Given the ongoing interest among the Duke community in the university’s investment portfolio and its dealings with respect to fossil fuel companies, the Office of Climate and Sustainability kicked off a non-credit-bearing seminar series in September 2023, titled “Investing for Mission-Driven Institutions: Balancing Fiduciary Requirements and Expressing Institutional Values,” to run throughout the 2023-24 academic year. The series aims to bring together university stakeholders to discuss the nuances and complexities of institutional investments, including how the fiduciary requirements associated with such investments can best be balanced with those interests looking to leverage investment decisions and related capital allocation to express institutional values. The series is not aimed to be a replacement for the Advisory Committee on Investment Responsibility (ACIR), which assists the President in making recommendations to the Board of Trustees, in keeping with the Board’s Guideline on Investment Responsibility. The series is also not intended to include formal recommendations from the group at the series’ conclusion. However, individuals may reach their own conclusions about actions that the university should take.

The series is being co-moderated by the following Duke community members:

  • Tim Profeta, Associate Professor of the Practice, Sanford School of Public Policy; Senior Fellow, Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability;
  • Sarah Bloom Raskin, Colin W. Brown Distinguished Professor of the Practice of Law, Duke Law School; Senior Fellow, Duke Center on Risk;
  • Aaron (Ronnie) Chatterji, Mark Burgess & Lisa Benson-Burgess Distinguished Professor, Fuqua School of Business;
  • Meera Ayyagari, Master of Engineering Management student, Nicholas School of the Environment;
  • Brennan McDonald, senior undergraduate student, Trinity College of Arts and Sciences; and
  • Emily Nagamoto, senior undergraduate student, Trinity College of Arts and Sciences.

The series is slated to run for three sessions in the Fall 2023 semester, with six additional sessions in the Spring 2024 semester, and is open to current Duke students, faculty, and staff. Registration is required.