No Donations until Divestment:
Open Letter to Princeton University’s President Eisgruber
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Cc: Resources Committee of the Council of the Princeton University Community (CPUC)
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Dear President Eisgruber,
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As proud current and future alumni of Princeton University, we are writing to express our deep concern that Princeton continues to invest a portion of its $37.7 billion endowment in fossil fuel companies. The ever-worsening climate crisis threatens the lives of many millions of people, the stability of countries and civilizations, and the existence of countless known and unknown species. The devastating effects of rapid climate change are being felt first and hardest by the most vulnerable communities — victims of colonial rule and indigenous communities, people of color, young people, low-income families, and other marginalized groups. The great injustice is that these communities are least to blame for our current crisis. It is our responsibility as an institution of tremendous privilege to be conscientious leaders in climate justice, and to take seriously the concerns and proposals of victims of climate breakdown — including but not limited to divestment.
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In light of these indisputable and existential threats, we can no longer contribute to the University while Princeton continues to invest in these companies which are primary drivers of the climate crisis. We take this action in solidarity with other movements to hold the University accountable, including the movement to withhold donations until the University implements Title IX reform.
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Princeton admonishes its students to work “in the nation’s service, and in the service of humanity.” We look to the University to embody the same ideal. Profiting from fossil fuels, at this point, is incompatible with acting in the nation’s service or the service of humanity.
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Princeton is a leader not only in research and higher education generally, but in environmental and climate research in particular. The Princeton Environmental Institute, the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, and other efforts showcase the University’s commitment to using its institutional power to support a global, just transition to clean energy, sustainable economy, and a stable climate. By continuing to finance, and to profit from, fossil fuel companies, Princeton’s investments undermine the crucial work done by students and faculty in laboratories and centers across campus.
President Eisgruber, you have previously stated that you feel Princeton must avoid being political in its investments. You wrote that climate change and other environmental problems “arise not out of the conduct of a few bad actors but rather out of the conduct of all of us,” yet we know that climate change is a structural problem that requires structural solutions — ones that fossil fuels companies have resisted for half a century. Given what is now known about the active disinformation campaigns and political obstruction from fossil fuel companies, to continue to provide financing to such companies is a political action. As students and alumni, we refuse to tacitly support the industry most responsible for creating and perpetuating this existential threat.
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Every day that Princeton delays divestment, it cedes its claim to global leadership and moral authority. It is well past time for Princeton to continue its history of divestments on ethical grounds, and to join with other universities and institutions worldwide in divesting from fossil fuel companies. Until then, we cannot in good conscience give to Princeton.
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Sincerely,
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3274 Princeton alumni, students, faculty, staff and parents
as of February 8, 2025
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*If you decide to withhold donations until Princeton fully divests from fossil fuels, but would still like to contribute to an organization that serves higher education needs, check out these organizations.​
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