Editor's note: The following article was updated to reflect the current policies of the university.
Meeting in-person for the first time since 2020, the Boulder Faculty Assembly Thursday afternoon passed a measure with 30 votes in favor; 0 opposed; and 2 abstentions calling on the University of Colorado system administration to work with campus and system faculty governance bodies to form 鈥渁 socially responsible strategy to divest from fossil fuels鈥� and then use that strategy 鈥渢o invest in a just energy transition, as quickly as financially prudent but no later than 2027.鈥澨�
The resolution, advanced to the assembly by the BFA鈥檚 Budget & Planning and Climate Science & Education committees. CU system Treasurer and Chief Investment Officer Tony Vu came to the meeting in person to discuss his role as treasurer in advocating for 鈥渟ustainable investing鈥� based on 鈥淓nvironmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors in the investment space.鈥�
Treasurer and Chief Investment Officer Tony Vu addresses the Boulder Faculty Assembly
Vu discussed other ways the university could pursue more sustainable investments, such as Principles of Responsible Investing (PRI)鈥揼uidelines with a goal of transitioning to a sustainable global financial system. The university鈥檚 current policy does not include divestment.听听听
鈥淚鈥檝e been talking with a lot of people and exploring . . . for a decade to figure out how this (PRI) really works in investing,鈥� Vu said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important for me to understand and for us to understand how our investing activities could lead to better choices, overall, for the world.鈥澨�
Vu said multiple studies have shown that when institutions factor in ESG elements in their investment portfolios and adopt PRI the outcome is 鈥減retty simple: you do better (with investment returns).鈥澨�
Vu said the CU regents endorsed adopting PRI, a result he said he took special efforts to ensure 鈥渨as not made in a vacuum.鈥澨�
鈥淚t was a really good result and a reflection of talking everyone through what we鈥檙e going to do,鈥� Vu said.听
Vu said he would soon hire a deputy chief investment officer whose focus will be 鈥渟etting up a risk framework we can all agree on for our investment portfolio,鈥� which he said amounted to a little over $3 billion.听
Vu said he would continue to inform the BFA about this issue.
Moore updates BFA; honors 50-year faculty members Rivera, Elliott
Provost Russ Moore opened the BFA meeting with an introduction of two 彩民宝典 faculty members who had each logged 50 years of service to the campus: Professor George Rivera, Department of Art and Art History, and Professor Emeritus Peter D.T.A. Elliott,听Department of Mathematics.
鈥淭hese two fine men are not only distinguished leaders in their respective fields, they have witnessed the growth of this campus and this community over five decades,鈥� said Moore.听
Professor George Rivera
Professor Emeritus Peter D.T.A. Elliott
Moore cited Rivera鈥檚 achievements as an international artist, curator, teacher and the founder of the Boulder-based art collective Artnauts,听which is dedicated to using art to focus activism toward social justice.
鈥淔or the last five decades, he has devoted himself to depicting stories of justice and injustice听and to answering the deep questions of the soul they pose,鈥� Moore said.
Moore described Elliott as a world-renowned 鈥渆xpert in number theory who, along with Czech-Anglo mathematician Heini Halberstam, developed the Elliott-Halberstam conjecture鈥攁 well-known conjecture in number theory concerning the distribution of prime numbers in arithmetic progressions.鈥�
鈥淟ike Professor Rivera, Dr. Elliott鈥檚 work has been truly international,鈥� said Moore. 鈥淗e has also been a valued mentor of students at all levels, a collegial and devoted member of the mathematics department, and one of our campus鈥檚 great scholarly thinkers and lifetime students of his discipline.鈥�
Both Rivera and Elliott briefly addressed the assembly at Moore鈥檚 invitation.
Elliott said he had come to CU 鈥渇rom England as a complete neophyte鈥� and then found himself 鈥渋mmersed with young people from 18 to 25 for the rest of my life.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檝e liked it very much, even when difficult,鈥� he said, closing with 鈥淚 sympathize with all of you.鈥�
Rivera told the group that as a young 彩民宝典 student, 鈥淚 once asked my professor, 鈥楬ow can I stay here forever?鈥� He said, 鈥楤ecome a professor.鈥欌��
鈥淪o, I thank CU for letting me become a professor,鈥� Rivera said.
Moore then thanked the BFA for its hard work this year, noting the challenges of the pandemic, the one-year anniversary of the King Soopers shootings听and a 鈥渉orrible fire,鈥� saying, 鈥淓veryone has risen to the challenge, and I thank everyone for their great courage and resilience.鈥�
He then updated the body on several ongoing issues:
Faculty Salary Procedures Working Group
The campus will announce before the end of the semester the composition of the Faculty Salary Procedures Working Group, sponsored jointly by Moore and the BFA, which will 鈥渨ork on a number of issues on faculty salaries and distribution practices.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 excited to partner with this group and support them in their important work,鈥� Moore said.
Search committees
Within the next two weeks, Moore will seat search committees for the vice chancellor for student affairs and the vice chancellor for research and innovation and dean of the institutes. He stated that the goal of the search committee for a new chief financial officer,听chaired by Executive Vice Provost Ann Schmiesing, would be to 鈥渋dentify a new CFO in early fall 2022.鈥�
Budget model redesign
The budget model redesign process is progressing. The budget model 鈥渋s in its penultimate phase鈥� and will launch on July 1.
Diversity, equity and inclusion
The campus is making progress on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Moore noted he听and other campus leaders recently met with the IDEA Council for 鈥渇rank discussions.鈥�
鈥淭hey are keeping track of what we as a campus are committing ourselves to and holding us accountable,鈥� Moore said.
He noted听the consultants being hired and deployed by Senior Vice Provost for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Sonia DeLuca Fern谩ndez to help campus units make workplace transformations based on the results of the recent Campus Culture and Workplace Survey would also help the campus 鈥渕ake good progress.鈥�
鈥淲e know this works鈥攚e piloted this approach in CIRES, and in less than two years, there were striking results,鈥� Moore said.
Benson Center for Western Civilization
Moore stated听he supports听a letter from Acting Dean Jim White of the College of Arts and Sciences to the college last week, in which White defended free speech and academic freedom in light of a recent petition to close the college鈥檚 Benson Center for Western Civilization due to its association with former Benson Center visiting scholar John Eastman. Eastman has been under fire for his role in reportedly urging Trump to support the Jan. 6 capitol attack.
Moore said White鈥檚 letter underscores the need for the campus to continue ongoing discussions鈥攕ponsored by the Office of Faculty Affairs鈥攁bout how to engage in the practice of academic freedom.
The praise of White鈥檚 letter prompted a respectful dissent by BFA Chair Tiffany Beechy, who noted a paragraph in the letter that 鈥渟poke approvingly of the decision not to fire a football coach鈥攚ho called homosexuality 鈥渁n abomination of God.鈥澨�淚t鈥檚 a protected class, and we work hard to include all members of our community...I have ambivalent feelings about how expansive Dean White鈥檚 definition of inclusion was,鈥� Beechy said.
Other BFA end-of-year business
- The assembly unanimously approved a resolution to adopt changes to the Privileges, Rights and Responsibilities (PRR) Document鈥攕pecifically, revisions of job titles and classifications for teaching professor-track and clinical faculty members covered under the policy.
- Also unanimously approved: a revised committee charge, membership and title of the former BFA鈥檚 Libraries Committee, now to be called the Libraries, Academic Materials and Publication Committee. BFA member Alastair Norcross of philosophy noted the 鈥渒ick-ass鈥� acronym formed by the new name: LAMP.
- Elected Norcross as vice chair of the BFA and current Vice Chair Vicki Grove of Germanic and Slavic Literature and Languages as secretary beginning July 1听for three-year terms.
- Honored past Chair Bob Ferry of History for his four consecutive years of service as chair, along with BFA Program Coordinator Lynne Howard for her 鈥渁stute, fearless and kind鈥� service to the assembly.
