Students for Gaza SFSU announced Thursday that San Francisco State University has pulled investments from three companies the university claims do not meet its human rights standards following demonstrations from pro-Palestinian activists and groups.
In the agreement reached with students, the university will sell its corporate bond position in aerospace and defense company Lockheed Martin, stock positions in Italian defense company Leonardo, and U.S.-based data analysis enterprise Palantir Technologies.
The move shifted SFSU’s $163 million investment portfolio after pro-Palestinian student protesters made headways in meeting with university leaders to discuss demands. The university became the first in the county to hold public negotiations with students.
Students at the university camped out and protested for three weeks in a nationwide call for universities to disclose and divest from what they categorized as companies profiting from Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land and the war in Gaza.
“Through the work of the many students involved in GUPS (General Union of Palestine Students) at SFSU and SFG (Students for Gaza), we have been able to successfully ensure our money is not funding GENOCIDE ‼️” read an Aug. 27 announcement on Instagram by Students for Gaza at San Francisco State.
The university also screened construction equipment manufacturer Caterpillar. The company has come under scrutiny by groups advocating divestment from Israel. Many groups claim that the company’s heavy equipment has been turned and used as weapons by the Israeli government in Palestinian territory.
Students for Gaza SFSU proposed a revision to the university’s investment policy where its investment arm, SF State Foundation, will “strive not to invest in companies that consistently, knowingly and directly facilitate or enable severe violations of international law and human rights.” The agreement reached also said the foundation will not invest in arms makers.
The proposed policy change is slated for a final vote in December.
“Obviously, there are no victories in genocide, but it sets a precedent sets an example for other schools that it is possible to divest and get these wins from prior to the encampment and the war when we started advocating,” said Mahmoud Ali, a third-year student at SFSU.
Jeff Jackanicz, the president of the SF State Foundation, issued a statement last week thanking students who participated in the workgroup. In the campus-wide email, Jackanicz also outlined the proposed changes to the foundation’s environmental, social, and governance strategies.
“We believe we have forged a region-neutral plan that strengthens our environmental, social, and governance investment strategy and will have broad-reaching positive impacts while continuing to provide critical support to our students,” Jackanicz wrote. “We have been lauded for being a leader in ESG investment before, and with credit to Students for Gaza, our revised policy affirms our leading role in values-driven advising,” Jackanicz wrote.
The SF State Foundation raises private funding and manages SFSU’s endowment. For the 2022-2023 fiscal year, the foundation’s endowment spent close to $9 million across the university, according to records from the California State University system.
This is not the first time the SF State Foundation has revised its investment criteria.
In 2013, the foundation limited its direct investment in coal and tar sands amid feedback from student activists.
“Looking ahead, the SF State Foundation has set an ambitious goal to divest fully from fossil fuels by 2025, reaffirming its dedication to a future shaped by sustainable and ethical investment practices,” read a letter to donors to the Cal State system.
