These Colleges Have Divested From Fossil Fuels
Credit: Image Credit: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images News / Getty Images- More than 100 U.S. schools have committed in some way to divest from fossil fuels.
- New York University is the latest university to commit to complete fossil fuel divestment.
- Divestment as a strategy began as a worldwide reponse to the apartheid regime in South Africa.
Colleges and universities have led divestment movements for decades, starting in the 1970s and 1980s when students pressured their schools to divest from companies that supported the apartheid regime in South Africa.
Fossil fuel divestment is the act of de-investing from the fossil fuel industry, namely companies that profit from the extraction of coal, oil, and natural gas.
Many colleges and universities have direct relationships with fossil fuels either through their endowments or research funding.
Divesting from fossil fuels is one way to combat climate change because it removes finances from business indirectly funding the climate crisis.
New York University (NYU) is the latest to join the fossil fuel divestment movement by committing to divest fully from all fossil fuel companies. NYU said it currently owns no public securities in the fossil fuel industry, will avoid direct investment, and will reduce indirect exposure to fossil fuels by seeking investment in commingled funds.
The Global Fossil Fuel Divestment Commitments Database keeps record of institutions’ commitments around the world to divest from fossil fuels. The database is managed by climate activism organization Stand.earth in partnership with 350.org.
According to the database, education institutions make up 15.5% of the 1,552 institutions globally divesting from fossil fuels. The total approximate value of all the institutions divesting is $40.5 trillion.
BestColleges gathered all U.S. colleges and universities from the Global Fossil Fuel Divestment Commitments Database.
List of Colleges and Universities That Have Divested From Fossil Fuels
Last Updated: Sept. 19, 2023, at 10:31 a.m. EST
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |
A
B
C
- California Institute of the Arts
- California State University System
- Carleton College
- Case Western Reserve University
- Chico State University
- College of the Atlantic
- Columbia University
- Cornell University
- Creighton University
D
F
G
- Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary
- George Washington University
- Georgetown University
- Goddard College
H
L
M
N
O
P
- Peralta Community College District
- Pitzer College
- Portland Community College
- Pratt Institute
- Princeton University
R
S
- Salem State University*
- San Francisco State University
- Seattle University
- Smith College
- Sterling College
- SUNY College of Environmental Sciences and Forestry
- SUNY New Paltz
- Syracuse University
T
U
- Unity College
- University of California
- University of Dayton
- University of Hawaii
- University of Illinois
- University of Maine System
- University of Maryland
- University of Massachusetts
- University of Michigan
- University of Minnesota
- University of Oregon
- University of Southern California
- University of St. Thomas
- University of Vermont
- University of Washington
V
W
Data provided by The Global Fossil Fuel Divestment Commitments Database managed by Stand.earth in partnership with 350.org.
- *Fossil fuel free
- *P=Partial
- *C=Coal only
- *C&T=Coal and Tar Sands