Following a recent appeal by African National Congress leader Nelson Mandela for the end to economic sanctions against South Africa, the College is considering reinvesting in companies doing business there.
The Council on Investor Responsibility, which makes recommendations on how the College should invest its money, has been asked to submit a proposal to the Board of Trustees at the board's next meeting, according to Trustee Chair E. John Rosenwald.
Kenneth Spritz, the director of foundation and corporate relations, and a member of the investor responsibility council, said he is not sure the proposal will be ready for the Trustees meeting on Nov. 11.
Spritz said the council will first solicit student, faculty and alumni opinions and try to understand what reinvestment would mean for the College, before making a recommendation to the Board.
The council plans to meet sometime in November, he said.
"Gathering opinion would be the right thing to do in a diverse community," Spritz said. "If we didn't, we'd be assuming we knew the answer."
Rosenwald stressed the importance of "hearing the opinions gathered by the council."
"On a personal level I would hope that the Board would vote to reverse its position as Mandela and the [U.S.] President have recommended," Rosenwald said.
"In an ideal world, it would not be necessary to tie the hands of our investors," he said. "But nothing in an educational institution is purely financial."
Spritz and Rosenwald both said they do not foresee any opposition to reinvestment.
"The world sanctions worked," Rosenwald said. "The results have been achieved. Now it's time to take them off."
The Council on Investor Responsibility is comprised of trustees, administrators, faculty and students and was founded in 1986 amidst much protest to the College's investments in South Africa.
In 1985,15 percent of the College's endowment -- $63.4 million -- was invested in 51 companies, ranging from Pepsico to IBM that were doing business in South Africa.
In Nov. 1989, after several tumultuous years of student protest on campus, the Board voted to end all Dartmouth investments in South Africa. By the time the Trustees voted to divest, only 1.8 percent of the College's endowment was still invested in companies doing business in South Africa.
The years of protest against apartheid and the demand for divestment from South Africa were the most divisive in recent College history and included a demonstration in Parkhurst Hall in Feb. 1986 in which students occupied the office of then-College President David McLaughlin. The demonstration and the political strife that surrounded it were factors in McLaughlin's resignation later that year.
