Trustees Convene Divestment From Darfur Considered
By Elliott August ’08
Editor-in-Chief
On Thursday April 19th and Friday April 20th, the members of the Choate Rosemary Hall Board of Trustees convened on campus for their annual spring term meeting. The board discussed many important topics that affect the student body and also the institution of Choate as a whole, including new board member candidates and divestment from Darfur.
At the meeting, the board was informed of promising college admittance numbers under new Director of College Counseling Mr. Dean Jacoby. According to Headmaster Shanahan in an interview with The News, this year was “the best [college] year we’ve had in six years.” This pertains to admittance percentage of Choate seniors to the Barron’s top 25, the top 50, and the Ivy League. Mr. Shanahan reported that approximately 41 percent of students who applied to the Ivies got in, with about 60 percent to next 25 and almost 70 percent to the top 50.
The board also discussed an unexpected but positive academic surprise. Mr. Shanahan explained that Choate has experienced “a nice, steady improvement in the brilliance of our students as measured in grades.” He reported that the number of A’s, B’s, and C’s are all going appropriately in the right direction. He stated that, “historically our grades have been a little lower. Faculty know that, and although we haven’t told them to do anything about that, but they don’t want to disadvantage our kids.”
One very important issue that was addressed was the topic of divestment from Darfur. The Investment Committee made a report on Choate’s portfolio and asset allocation. According to Mr. Shanahan, “the most vigorous conversation certainly I’ve seen in a long time” was that regarding divestment. Over the past couple of months, Choate students have held a Darfur Awareness Day, and hundreds have signed a petition for the divestment of Choate money from Darfur. The administration is taking this issue “quite seriously.”
Mr. Shanahan relayed to The News that the board wanted to express “how impressed they are that the students are engaged in an international issue of this magnitude. How grateful they are, that the student body has organized itself to express itself to the leadership of this school in a thoughtful, careful, and considerate manner. And how deeply sympathetic the board is with the moral issues that are involved.” The board will be spending significant time analyzing the issue. Mr. Shanahan stated that “it’s not a simple issue. I don’t think anybody suggests it’s a simple issue, but it’s an issue that the board is taking quite seriously.”
No Divestment Policy
However, the issue is not simply a moral one. Mr. Shanahan stated that the decision-making process is difficult because “the board doesn’t have a set of policies with regard to the social issues dimension of investment. The primary reason for our having an endowment is to maximize return, to support the school….and to contain tuition.” He continued that “it would be crazy for any school to say ‘the moral issue of the day, let’s divest from that.’” There are too many to just divest from all.
Choate’s capital campaign has continued to surge after a period of a few months. When a campaign is launched, a trough in fundraising often occurs after the beginning surge. However, in this instance “we didn’t have that trough….we’ve kept trucking along” explained Mr. Shanahan. Choate is approximately six to eight months ahead of where it planned to be at this point in the campaign.
Energy and Sustainability
The topic of energy and sustainability, which has been brought to the forefront of student life due to the Green Cup and the current Hydro Cup, also was looked at by the Board. The Buildings and Grounds Committee looked to replace roofs and do so in a sustainable way. The committee is starting to explore more sustainable roofing. This could possibly even include roofing that can generate power. Chief Financial Officer Mr. Richard Saltz spoke to the board about the new Sustainability Committee. Explained Mr. Shanahan to The News, “We want not only to capture the low hanging fruit-the easy things to do. Let’s also look at what are the things that are going to return a big investment in terms of reducing energy over time.” Although Choate is looking to conserve, results may not be immediate. “We may have to spend before we can save,” stated Mr. Shanahan.
In a closed meeting, the trustees began to examine Choate’s process of recruiting male athletes. In the winter, Chairman Herbert Kohler and Headmaster Shanahan had expressed dissatisfaction with the play of Choate’s boys’ varsity athletic teams. Mr. Kohler stated that “we are going to examine the whole philosophy of this school towards athletics.” He added that “I think that athletics should have a real place at the table along with your studies, and drama, and all the other things... and that you ought to have the best.” Therefore, the board has started to asses the approach of the school in recruiting athletes.
The trustees also looked to add new members to the board. The Trusteeship Committee presented the full board with the names of five candidates who will be assessed in June for membership on the board.
