The Justice

Earlier this week, the Student Union announced the establishment of a Committee on Endowment Ethics and Responsibility that would advise the University, Board of Trustees and investment managers as to how to best use Brandeis' endowment money. Theoretically, students should be involved in this decision, but the current application process is insufficient to ensure students' knowledge of the subject matter, and we are wary about the impact of the committee.

The committee grew out of Independent Voices for Endowment Sustainability and Transparency, a club that advocates for the University to make its holdings public and to invest in companies that fit the University's values. Club leader Alex Melman, now senator for the Class of 2011, spearheaded the committee along with the Union executive board.

The committee will submit written recommendations to Chief Investment Officer for Guidance Deborah Kuenstner and the Board of Trustees, but the University already employs investment managers who make the investment decisions. These managers are well-educated professionals; in order to provide them with useful advice, it is imperative that the members of the committee demonstrate that they, too, have experience with the fundamentals of investment.

There is currently no explicit requirement for experience in investment in the application process. The Union sent an e-mail to the entire campus inviting applications, but not every student possesses the knowledge necessary to make informed recommendations. The Union need not impose an experience requirement in the application process, but the committee should carefully select for students with some sort of expertise when reviewing applicants.

We recommend there be some sort of benchmark that all applicants must meet. For example, the Union could require that any applicant have under his belt at least one class that discusses investment-related material. Student Union President Jason Gray '10 said he expects applicants to have "a thorough knowledge" of the subject matter, but students should have to reach a more explicit standard. Mr. Gray said the Union asked faculty for help persuading qualified students to apply, and we hope that those professors provide guidance to the students.

Even so, members of the committee simply cannot possess anywhere near as much expertise as the investment managers who already make endowment decisions. We worry there will be little incentive for these investment managers to take the committee seriously. Only experienced students can have even symbolic value in participating in endowment decisions.

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