I am deeply in support of the expansion of university resources and the long-term sustainability of higher education. I am not convinced, however, that tying up billions of dollars in private capital is the best way to fulfill WashU’s obligations as an educational institution.

Divestment campaigns have achieved their goals at other universities. So what’s stopping divestment at WashU?

In a meeting attended by nearly 200 total students, Student Union (SU) Senate passed a resolution 15 to 5 with one abstention, via an unprecedented anonymous vote, calling on Washington University to divest from and cut professional ties with Boeing, March 19. 

Washington University Chancellor Andrew Martin sat down for an interview with Student Life on March 5, nearly a year after his last Q&A in April 2023. Martin spoke about recent student activism on campus, the state of the endowment, the University’s recent and future property purchases, and where he buys his glasses.

Green Action, a student group focused on environmental justice and advocacy, held a rally calling on Washington University to divest from fossil fuels as a part of its Fossil Free WashU campaign, Oct. 27.

Students rallied for fossil fuel divestment at WU, in a protest organized by Fossil Free WashU

The unprecedented increase in the University’s endowment has led to questions about where the money should be spent.

We want to see the University keep its word and actually put the funding toward student support and programs that directly benefit the WashU and St. Louis community — not towards aesthetic changes and facility expansions that have no real impact on the WashU student experience.

On Sep. 20, news hit our email inboxes that Washington University’s endowment grew by 65% over the past year, now standing at $15.3 billion. Just a week prior, to our delight, WashU rose by two places in the U.S. News & World Report’s National Universities ranking, making a three-way tie for #14 alongside Brown University […]

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.