Stanford University will no longer invest any of its $19 billion endowment in coal

Facebook/Fossil Free Stanford

Stanford University will no longer invest any of its $19 billion endowment in coal
(Image credit: Facebook/Fossil Free Stanford)

Citing a responsibility to promote a more sustainable planet, Stanford University announced Tuesday it would divest from coal companies. In doing so, Stanford becomes the latest (and largest) of about a dozen colleges to nix coal investments after facing pressure from environmentalists.

The student group Fossil Free Stanford began a petition drive last year urging the change, which prompted a review from an endowment advisory panel and ultimately a vote from the Board of Trustees. In announcing the move, Stanford President John Hennessy said the school "has a responsibility as a global citizen to promote sustainability for our planet," and that emission-heavy coal did not jibe with that ideal.

Stanford does not disclose how it spends every penny of its endowment, but at almost $19 billion as of last August — the fourth-largest endowment in the nation — the potential pool of money is quite large.

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Jon Terbush

Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.