Members of student coalition DukeOpen interrupted the Board of Trustees’ meeting Friday afternoon in an effort to present their proposal for endowment transparency. President Richard Brodhead declined the request, citing the Board’s full schedule.
“You and I have had many exchanges as recently as the past few days,” Brodhead said to senior Jacob Tobia, one of DukeOpen’s leaders. “The Trustees have heard extensively about this issue… I’m sure I could find someone who would be happy to sit and spend a few minutes with you at the end of the meeting.”
The 12 students knocked on the door of the meeting—held in 115 Teer Building—shortly after it began.
Following several meetings with DukeOpen, Brodhead was scheduled to present changes to the endowment policies at the Board’s meetings this weekend. The recommendations include the creation of a social choice fund as well as modifications to the Advisory Committee on Investment Responsibility, The Chronicle previously reported.
The recommendations do not include DukeOpen’s request for hard-copy, time-delayed disclosure of the endowment’s direct investments—an arrangement in which members of the Duke community would be able to view paper records of the endowment’s direct holdings in an office setting, six months after investments have been made.
The endowment is handled by DUMAC, an professionally-staffed investment group controlled by the University.
Brodhead spoke to the group for about three minutes before returning to the Board.
“We’re in the middle of a meeting, and I’ve got to get back,” he said.
DukeOpen members said that they were not satisfied with the response and will continue to pursue the topic.
Check back for updates on this developing story.
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