WWU Board of Trustees approves new “socially responsible investing” policy

BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – Western Washington University has adopted a new investment protocol in response to pro-Palestinian student protests last spring.

The university’s Board of Trustees approved its new policy on “socially responsible investing” at its meeting on Friday, April 11.

The policy forbids Western from investing or buying shares in companies that don’t align with the university’s values. That includes companies involved with fossil fuel, tobacco, weapons production and human rights violations. The policy was written by Western’s new Advisory Committee on Socially Responsible Investing.

It also directed the university to offer full transparency of its investment portfolio on the committee’s website.

Both the advisory committee and policy objectives were part of an agreement between university administrators and students that ended a two-week long encampment protest in May 2024.

Notably, the Foundation for WWU and Alumni is excluded from the policy because it’s a separate entity.