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Review of 2024 Proposal

At the direction of the Johns Hopkins University board of trustees, the Public Interest Investment Advisory Committee reconvened in June 2024, anticipating the need to review a new proposal.

This proposal, received in August 2024, requested that JHU divest its endowment from companies with ties to the State of Israel and disclose all investments made through its endowment. Since the proposal was submitted by the Hopkins Justice Collective, which has not sought recognition as a university group, the committee first verified that the proposal was submitted by community members. Two individuals identified themselves as the authors of the proposal and were verified as current members of the JHU community. Once this was confirmed, the committee proceeded with its review in accordance with the existing university policy and process.

The committee considered a wide range of perspectives specific to the proposal and its requests, including learning about the purpose and structure of modern university endowments from the university administration and discussing perspectives of other members of the JHU community. In October 2024, the PIIAC heard a presentation by the two individuals who submitted the proposal, along with two other individuals nominated by HJC, followed by a question-and-answer session with the presenters.

Over the course of the committee’s deliberations, it heard from several additional groups, including a presentation on university endowments from the JHU investment office, memoranda from several offices in the university administration, opinions from members of the JHU community, background research on relevant divestment-related topics, and a discussion about the university’s position on institutional restraint.

In November 2024, the PIIAC voted 15–1 to decline to advance the proposal, citing as primary among several rationales the clear lack of consensus within the Hopkins community on the proposed actions.

The committee’s final report provides additional details about the PIIAC’s process, deliberations, and decision.