Chancellor Andrew Martin launched “Endowment 101,” a three part series on his official blog designed to explain how Washington University’s endowment works this semester.

Photo by Christine Watridge

The first post outlined what exactly an endowment is and how it works, while the second post focused on the specifics of how the University’s endowment is managed and what it is composed of. The third and final post, which will come out within the next month, will examine the University’s principles for socially responsible investing and will “provide a window” into some of the University’s current investments.

Martin cited transparency as his main reason for starting the blog series.

“[The goal of the series is] ultimately, to provide transparency and clarity about the endowment—what it is, how it functions, how it is managed, how the funds are allocated and how the funds are invested to support the core mission of the University,” Martin wrote in a statement to Student Life.

For some groups such as WU/FUSED, a student organization aimed at increasing socioeconomic diversity at the University, Martin’s efforts to foster a discussion with the student body about the endowment are a promising sign.

“I think the blog posts are, at the very least, an encouraging effort to engage with the Wash. U. community,” WU/FUSED member Zachary Leonard said. “I think that the chancellor’s position can sometimes be very outwardly focused and not be facing the students.”

Leonard also expressed concern regarding the tone of Martin’s writing, suggesting that it came across as a slightly patronizing.

“I personally have some issues with the way that it was presented,” Leonard said. “It feels a little bit condescending the way that the blogs have been written. I think that in some instances, in order to sound engaging and friendly, he’s instead talking down to students.”

On a few occasions, Martin used the platform of the blog to address controversial issues on campus.

“It’s important to note, however, that we still have significant work to do to grow our endowment, especially its capacity to fund the amount of financial aid we aspire to provide,” Martin wrote in his first blog post. “Admittedly, we are not as well-positioned as our peers in that regard, and we need to double down in order to eventually practice need-blind admissions.”

However, Leonard was skeptical about some of Martin’s reasoning surrounding the University’s position on need-blind admissions.

“I think that although it’s presented as an informative blog post, it’s also that he’s presenting an argument about what we can and can’t do and using some hand waving that doesn’t always make it convincing…. At one point he’s characterizing the endowment as healthy, but also he says we’re not as good as some of our peers with respect to it, which is a defense that we’ve heard about [why] Wash. U. can’t go need-blind.”

Martin however, pointed out that the section of the University’s endowment that could potentially be used for financial aid is a limiting factor.

“Currently only 14% of our endowment makeup is earmarked for financial aid/scholarships,” Martin wrote. “This percentage is on the low side compared to our peer institutions, many of whom are already practicing need-blind admissions. In order to become need-blind, we need to increase that percentage and the overall dollar amount significantly. Bottom line, we need to raise more endowed funds in order to achieve our goals.”

Additionally, student groups such as Fossil Free WashU and Green Action have raised ethical concerns about the University’s investment practices, calling for the University to divest from fossil fuels.

“[Washington University should] immediately prepare to divest its endowment from the top 200 dirtiest fossil fuel corporations, including Peabody and Arch Coal, headquartered in St. Louis,” Fossil Free’s petition reads. “The administration must also demonstrate its service to the student body and responsibility to our greater public by making all endowment investments and proxy voting completely transparent.”

Martin acknowledged the importance of socially responsible investing, noting that socially responsible businesses can often be profitable investments. However, he also recognized the importance of using the endowment to ensure a successful future for the University.

“It is possible for us to continue moving forward as a distinctive community that upholds a certain set of values as well as a responsibility to all members of our community,” Martin wrote. “But these things also take time, careful assessment and considerable resources. We must continue moving forward in a way that is financially prudent and also in a way that benefits all members of our community.”