Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 66.77
Liaison Paul Edlund
Submission Date May 31, 2023

STARS v2.2

Montana State University
PA-9: Committee on Investor Responsibility

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00 Paul Edlund
Project Coordinator
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution have a formally established and active committee on investor responsibility (CIR) or equivalent body?:
Yes

The charter or mission statement of the CIR or other body which reflects social and environmental concerns or a brief description of how the CIR is tasked to address social and environmental concerns:
The MSU Investment Strategy Working Group is tasked with studying where the MSU endowment is currently invested and how these investments can align with MSU commitments to social and environmental sustainability as outlined in MSU strategic plan "Choosing Promise".

Does the CIR include academic staff representation?:
Yes

Does the CIR include non-academic staff representation?:
Yes

Does the CIR include student representation?:
Yes

Members of the CIR, including affiliations and role:
William Sanderson
Secretary/Treasurer and Finance Committee Chair, Montana State University Alumni Foundation

Mark Bacigalupo
Chair, Investment Committee, Montana State University Alumni Foundation

Terry Leist
Vice President for Administration and Finance, Montana State University

Gary Caton
Professor, Jake Jabs College of Business and Entrepreneurship, Montana State University

Atticus Cummings
Associated Students of Montana State University

Raye Myers
Associated Students of Montana State University

None
Examples of CIR actions during the previous three years:
The MSU Alumni Foundation's Board of Governors formed the MSU Investment Strategy Working Group in the 2021 Fall semester. The group made up of students, staff, and faculty will work to study the current state of the MSU endowment as well as provide insight into where the money could be responsibly invested to better align with MSU's social and environmental commitments to sustainability. The following charge was created for the working group:
-Develop an anticipated timeline and identifying those any resources reasonably required by the Working Group for the completion of the work described herein.
-Consult with Wilshire and the IC to ensure that the members of the Working Group have a common understanding of (i) MSUAF’s existing Investment Policy, (ii) the nature of investments held in MSUAF’s endowment and any restrictions on those investments, and (iii) the estimated value of MSUAF’s investments in (a) fossil fuels, (b) private prison companies and (c) tobacco companies.
-Consult with Wilshire to understand what resources they can offer to MSUAF in considering any revised investment strategy to respond to the Requested Actions.
-Working with MSUAF staff, survey other institutionally related peer foundations to determine how they are addressing these and related issues.
-Submit a recommendation for any revisions to MSUAF’s current investment strategy (as set forth in the Investment Policy) that the Working Group concludes would be reasonable and appropriate to respond to the Requested Actions.
-Identify and advise MSUAF of any costs, adverse results or obstacles likely to result from the implementation of any revisions to MSUAF’s current investment strategy proposed by the Working Group.

Optional Fields 

Website URL where information about the institution’s committee on investor responsibility is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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