An Open Letter to President Reif and the Executive Committee on Divesting From Fossil Fuel Companies

To add your name to this open letter, please visit www.MITFacultyDivest.org.

Dear President Reif and the Executive Committee,

We, the undersigned faculty of MIT, write in support of divesting MIT’s endowment from fossil fuel companies. The unique position of the Institute provides us with both the means and the obligation to take bold action against the harmful effects of climate change.

One of the clearest and most powerful ways to demonstrate our seriousness about tackling catastrophic climate change is to divest from fossil fuels, as part of a multi-faceted climate action plan.

We support divestment - as one of the Institute's actions - for reasons including the following:

Divestment recognizes the scientific necessity of drastically and rapidly reducing greenhouse gas emissions to avoid global warming beyond the 2 degree Celsius limit agreed to by virtually every country on Earth. At least two-thirds of all existing global fossil fuel reserves must never be burned, yet every year the fossil fuel industry spends hundreds of billions of dollars looking for more.

Our integrity is at stake. Many fossil fuel companies have a proven record, past and present^1,2,3,4,5, of actively working to obscure the scientific consensus around climate change. By continuing to invest in these companies, we knowingly endorse efforts to undermine MIT’s commitment to scientific analysis and practical action for the betterment of humankind.

Divestment is the moral course of action, and also the financially prudent one. Any solution to climate change will require an unprecedented reduction in the demand for fossil fuels. Many of the world’s foremost investment experts are warning that fossil fuels are overvalued in light of their dangers, risking trillions of dollars of stranded assets.

Divestment is not only right, it is powerful. Over the decades, divestment has proven effective at engendering the political will needed for bold leadership and legislation. MIT recognized this when it divested in 2007 in response to the human tragedy in Darfur. The impact of universities’ thought leadership on public perception is tremendous.

By divesting from fossil fuels, MIT can call out the contradictions between the fossil fuel industry’s business practices and the requirements for a safe and stable future. The social and political momentum created can help shift the efforts of both policymakers and industry toward development of sustainable resources. And as a component of a larger strategy, divestment inspires hope and galvanizes passion and action in both society and our students.

We do not call for divestment lightly, and the bounds of divestment must of course be carefully chosen. But in the end, we have a moral obligation to future generations - our children, our students, and beyond – to do everything we can to limit the most devastating consequences of human-driven climate change.

We stand alongside thousands of MIT students, staff, and alumni in urging you to divest the Institute’s endowment from fossil fuels as part of a comprehensive climate action plan.

Sincerely yours,

The undersigned faculty of MIT.

Scott Aaronson
Associate Professor
Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science

Frank Ackerman
Lecturer
Department of Urban Studies & Planning

Takako Aikawa
Senior Lecturer in Japanese
Global Studies & Languages

Eric Alm
Associate Professor
Department of Biological Engineering; Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering

Angelika Amon
Kathleen & Curtis Marble Professor of Cancer Research
Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research; Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Deborah Ancona
Seley Distinguished Professor of Management
Sloan School of Management
 
Jolyon Bloomfield
Lecturer
Department of Physics

Karen Boiko
Lecturer II
Comparative Media Studies/Writing

Louis Bucciarelli
Professor (Emeritus) of Engineering & Technology Studies
Department of Science, Technology & Society
 
John S. Carroll
Gordon Kaufman Professor of Management
Sloan School of Management
 
Noam Chomsky
Institute Professor (retired)
Department of Linguistics & Philosophy
 
Ian Condry
Professor of Japanese Culture & Media Studies
Head, Global Studies & Languages
 
Jane Abbott Connor
Lecturer II
Comparative Media Studies/Writing

Bruno Coppi, O.M.R.I.
Professor of Physics (Emeritus)
Department of Physics
 
Sasha Costanza-Chock
Associate Professor
Comparative Media Studies/Writing
 
Jennifer Craig
Lecturer II
Comparative Media Studies/Writing

Daniel Cziczo
Victor P. Starr Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry
Department of Earth, Atmospheric & Planetary Sciences; Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
 
Michel Degraff
Professor
Department of Linguistics & Philosophy
 
Junot Díaz
Rudge and Nancy Allen Professor of Writing
Comparative Media Studies/Writing

Robert G. Eccles
Visiting Lecturer
Sloan School of Management

Elfatih A. B. Eltahir
Professor
Associate Department Head
Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering

Dara Entekhabi
Professor
Bacardi and Stockholm Water Foundations Chair
Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering

Roberto Fernandez
William F. Pounds Professor in Management
Professor of Organization Studies
Sloan School of Management

Danny Fox
Anshen Chomsky Professor in Language and Thought
Department of Linguistics & Philosophy

Robert M. Freund
Theresa Seley Professor in Management Science
Sloan School of Management

Eric Goldberg
Associate Professor
Department of History

Renée Richardson Gosline
Zennon Zannetos (1955) Career Development Professor
Assistant Professor of Marketing
Sloan School of Management

Margarita Ribas Groeger
Senior Lecturer in Spanish
Global Studies & Languages, SHASS

Marah Gubar
Associate Professor
Department of Literature
 
Timothy G. Gutowski
Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering

Aram Harrow
Assistant Professor
Department of Physics
 
Charles F. Harvey
Singapore Professor of Environmental Science
Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
 
Sally Haslanger
Ford Professor
Department of Linguistics & Philosophy; Department of Women's & Gender Studies

Colette L. Heald
Associate Professor
Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
 
Stefan Helmreich
Elting E. Morison Professor of Anthropology
Head, Anthropology Program

Arne Hessenbruch
Lecturer
Department of Materials Science & Engineering
 
Erica Caple James
Associate Professor
Director, Global Health & Medical Humanities Initiative
Anthropology Program

Pablo Jarillo-Herrero
Associate Professor
Department of Physics
 
Jason Jay
Senior Lecturer
Director of Sustainability Initiative
Sloan School of Management

David Keith
Assistant Professor
Sloan School of Management

Christine Kelly
Senior Lecturer
Sloan School of Management

Michael Kenstowicz
Professor
Department of Linguistics

Jonathan Alan King
Professor of Molecular Biology
Department of Biology

Daniel Kleppner
Lester Wolfe Professor (Emeritus)
Department of Physics

Judith A. Layzer
Professor of Environmental Policy
Department of Urban Studies & Planning

Sabine Levet
Senior Lecturer in French
Global Studies & Languages

Ceasar McDowell
Professor of the Practice of Community Development
Department of Urban Studies & Planning

David McGee
Assistant Professor
Department of Earth, Atmospheric & Planetary Sciences
 
Vann McGee
Professor
Department of Linguistics & Philosophy

Dennis McLaughlin
H.M. King Bhumibol Professor of Water Resource Management
Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
 
Haynes Miller
Professor
Philip Solondz (1948)-MacVicar Fellow
Department of Mathematics

Nick Montfort
Associate Professor of Digital Media
Comparative Media Studies/Writing

Robert Nachtrieb
Senior Lecturer in System Dynamics
Sloan School of Management

Leslie Norford
George Macomber (1948) Professor in Construction Management
Department of Architecture

James B. Orlin
The Edward Pennell Brooks Professor of Operations Research
Sloan School of Management

Ozalp Ozer
Visiting Professor of Operations Management
Sloan School of Management
 
Heather Paxson
William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Anthropology
MacVicar Faculty Fellow
Anthropology Program

Lee David Perlman
Senior Lecturer
Concourse Program
 
David Pesetsky
Ferrari P. Ward Professor of Modern Languages & Linguistics
Margaret MacVicar Faculty Fellow
Head, Department of Linguistics & Philosophy

Martin Polz
Professor
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
 
Bjorn Poonen
Claude Shannon Professor of Mathematics
Department of Mathematics

Jeffrey S. Ravel
Professor of History
Professor of Global Studies & Languages
Department of History; Global Studies & Languages

Agustín Rayo
Professor
Department of Linguistics & Philosophy

Norvin Richards
Professor
Department of Linguistics & Philosophy

Susan Ruff
Lecturer II
Comparative Media Studies/Writing

Frederick P. Salvucci
Senior Lecturer
Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering

Leona D. Samson
Uncas and Helen Whitaker Professor
American Cancer Society Research Professor
Department of Biological Engineering; Department of Biology

Hilke Schlichting
Assistant Professor
Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences

Andreas Schramm
Visiting Professor
Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering
 
Michael S. Scott Morton
Jay W. Forrester Professor of Management (Emeritus)
Sloan School of Management
 
Kieran Setiya
Professor
Department of Linguistics & Philosophy
 
Brad Skow
Associate Professor
Department of Linguistics & Philosophy
 
Robert Stalnaker
Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor of Philosophy
Department of Linguistics & Philosophy

Donca Steriade
Professor of Linguistics
Department of Linguistics & Philosophy

John Sterman
Jay W. Forrester Professor of Management
Sloan School of Management
 
T. L. Taylor
Associate Professor
Comparative Media Studies/Writing
 
Judith Jarvis Thomson
Professor (Emeritus)
Department of Linguistics & Philosophy

John Van Maanen
Erwin Schell Professor of Management
Sloan School of Management
 
Jing Wang
Professor of Chinese Media & Cultural Studies
S. C. Fang Professor of Chinese Language & Culture
Director, New Media Action Lab
Executive Director, NGO2.0
Global Studies and Languages

Roger White
Associate Professor
Department of Linguistics & Philosophy

David Gordon Wilson
Professor of Mechanical Engineering (Emeritus)
Department of Mechanical Engineering

Stephen Yablo
David S. Skinner Professor of Linguistics & Philosophy
Department of Linguistics & Philosophy

JoAnne Yates
Sloan Distinguished Professor of Management
Sloan School of Management

	Back to top
	Send your comments