Unity College
Endowment Value: $18.5 million (November 2021)
Unity College is a private college with a student body of 2,800 located in multiple locations throughout Maine. The Spinnaker Trust and an Investment Committee, composed of three members of the board of Trustees, manages the endowment. Unity College is known as “America’s Environmental College” and is a founding member of the Intentional Endowments Network.
In 2012, the Unity College Board of Trustees voted unanimously to fully divest from fossil fuels, making them the first institution of higher learning in the United States to do so. A report released by UC’s finance officials showed that the college’s investment portfolio had exceeded performance expectations following the decision to divest. “This has been a great decision for Unity College as well as the environment. Since divesting, our portfolio has outperformed many indexes,” said Unity College President Dr. Melik Peter Khoury.
“Unity College is proud to have been the first institution of higher education to divest from fossil fuel. It was our goal to be the roadmap that showed other colleges this is possible. Now that institutions like Harvard and Dartmouth, with their massive endowments have followed our lead, we believe it’s only a matter of time before fossil fuel divestment becomes the norm,” said Dr. Khoury.
In 2020, Unity College was featured in the Intentional Endowment Network’s case study on ESG investing. The study revealed that schools employing ESG investing practices saw the same or better returns as schools employing a traditional approach to investing. Read the full study here.
Unity College is a participant or member of the following Initiatives & Commitments:
- AASHE STARS: Yes, Gold
- ACUPCC: Yes, Carbon Neutral by 2025
- Billion Dollar Green Challenge: Yes
- CDP: Yes
- Committee on Investor Responsibility: Yes
- Divestment Goal: Yes, full
- INCR: No
- Montreal Carbon Pledge: No
- Sustainable Investment Fund: Yes, Green Revolving Fund
- Sustainable Investment Policy: Yes
- Principles for Responsible Investment: No
Other Sustainable Investing Practices and Resources: