Student groups call for a more transparent endowment at UNC

The last time Jon King appeared before the Board of Trustees, he was heckled by angry students protesting tuition increases.

One of the demands of those protesters ­— a more transparent endowment — is still being worked on by administrators.

King is president and CEO of the UNC Management Company, which makes financial decisions for endowments across the UNC system, including the $2.2 billion Chapel Hill Investment Fund.

Today he will once again present the state of the University’s investment fund to the budget, finance and audit committee of the Board of Trustees.

During the November meeting, students demanded to know why no part of the endowment could be used to soften the tuition hikes’ impact on students as administrators stressed the necessity of more tuition revenue.

King responded that the large majority of the money is donated with a specific purpose and can’t be appropriated to other uses.

King did not respond to calls for comment Monday and Tuesday.

“Most money does not come back to the academic purpose of the University unless the donor decides that as the purpose,” said Karol Gray, vice chancellor for finance and administration.

Gray, who took the vice chancellor position in December, said she wants to work with students to clear up confusion. Next fall, Gray said she will host a panel with King and Chancellor Holden Thorp to explain how the endowment works.

She compared endowment funds to a flower that must be left to bloom.

“The only thing that comes back is the interest on the investment,” she said.

At the November meeting, students also questioned why officials couldn’t use the endowment’s flexible funds that weren’t marked for a specific cause.

At the meeting, King couldn’t provide the audience with the percentage of the endowment that was flexible.

Gray estimated that about 2 percent of UNC’s endowment is flexible. She added that the number is very difficult to determine because the funds are split up among different endowments within UNC’s overall endowment.

But some students aren’t concerned about what funds are flexible, they’re concerned about where UNC Management Company invests its money.

Panelists at “Divestment at UNC: A History of Social Justice” discussed some of those investments on Tuesday.

The panel was hosted by the UNC Sierra Student Coalition, the Campus Y, STAND-UNC and Students for a Democratic Society.

Group members said they want the management company to remove investments from coal mining and burning companies.

Previously, UNC removed investments from businesses in apartheid-era South Africa and during the crisis in Darfur, panelists said.

Panelist Sen. Ellie Kinnaird, D-Orange, was enthusiastic for the cause but not optimistic about changing the endowment.

“During the time of South Africa the fund was a lot less complex,” she said.

Contact the University Editor at university@dailytarheel.com.