Last Friday, the Board of Trustees held their December meeting virtually. During the meeting, trustees discussed the Impact Investment Fund and the research the fund’s fellows have conducted, as well as ongoing and upcoming changes to the Board. The Board voted to change their bylaws to allow the Board to meet three rather than four times a semester, meaning this will be the Board’s last routinely scheduled meeting in December.

The Impact Investment Fund has an Advisory Group made up of four student fellows – College fourth-years Michael Dinkel, Lily Gonzalez, Zoe Lafontant, and College third-year Noah Kuchek – who are conducting research and providing recommendations on how Oberlin can invest its endowment. 

“We’re looking at asset classes that aren’t traditionally thought of but have an impact, either socially or environmentally, that also provide a financial return,” Dinkel said.

The fellows presented their research to the Board during the meeting. Board Chair Chuck Birenbaum, OC ‘79, highlighted the fellows’ research into carbon emission credits, which have the potential to benefit the endowment and the environment simultaneously.

“The reason that [the fellows are] researching [carbon emission credits] and exploring it is because the delivery of energy and the regulation of energy worldwide without contributing to pollution and environmental harm would be a benefit to society,” Birenbaum said. “And investment in the carbon emission credit trading system might offer that kind of opportunity.”

The Board has also presented the Impact Investment Platform as an avenue for student activist groups who hope to make a difference with the College’s endowment.

During the Board’s last meeting in October, Board Finance Chair Sean Gavin, OC ’98, and Oberlin administrative officials met with leaders from Students for a Free Palestine, who worked on the most recent divestment proposal that the Board rejected. The divestment proposal which was submitted this spring called for Oberlin to divest from all companies invested in the production of armaments. 

“The message to those students who submitted the divestment proposal was that the Board … is thinking about [the Impact Investment Platform] as how can we engage with the world as opposed to divest from it,” President Carmen Twillie Ambar said.

In 2024, the Impact Investment Program expanded its scope to include “investments pertaining to the support and redevelopment of war-torn regions” and increased the investment commitment from $70 to $100 million. 

For College fourth-year and SFP Co-Chair Juwayria Zahurullah, who was part of the October meeting, this expansion will only be meaningful if it is enacted.

“We really pushed those we met with to consider how this will actually be implemented and accomplished, and pointed out that if there is no specific action taken to follow up on this, it was a disappointing and blatant use of tokenizing language following their rejection of the 2024 divestment proposal,” Zahurullah wrote in a written statement to the Review.

She said SFP intends to continue conversations with people involved in the Program to create more student positions that can “advocate for reconstruction in specific regions such as Palestine, Sudan, and the DRC.” The organization still plans to submit more divestment proposals in the future.

“We also plan to continue submitting divestment proposals to ensure that Oberlin’s complacency in global military violence and occupation is an active conversation that the Board must continue to consider,” Zahurullah wrote. 

The Board’s decision to meet virtually stemmed in part from the findings of a temporary committee for Board governance and a consultant with expertise in advising Boards of higher education institutions. Over the last two and a half years, the committee has concluded that the Board should meet three times a year, not four, in an energy and cost-saving effort. December meetings will no longer be part of the Board’s scheduled calendar.

“First, [three meetings] save on the budget, because it’s very expensive to have all these meetings and have everybody fly in and invest in all the prep that goes into them,” Birenbaum said. “Two, it’s a lot of work for the executive leadership team to prepare for these meetings. … What we have found is that many of our peer institutions have moved to three meetings a year with the option to have additional meetings as we see appropriate.”

Meeting virtually also allowed President Ambar to travel to New York City for the The New York Times’ DealBook Summit two days prior. President Ambar appeared on a panel, “The Educating of Higher Education,” alongside presidents of prestigious higher education institutions including Dartmouth College and Stanford University.

President Ambar said that her participation in the summit reflects an important component of her role as Oberlin’s president. Widely publicized speaking engagements platform Oberlin’s perspectives on hot-button issues and keep the College in the spotlight on higher education.

“Every time … people can see us as a player on the national stage [discussing] important issues, it’s another way for me to do my little part to … find moments where you can elevate the brand in people’s thinking,” President Ambar said.

Birenbaum and President Ambar were adamant that the virtual meeting was not a response to the protest that took place during the Board’s last meeting in October, which saw Oberlin students pepper sprayed by a police officer after repeated attempts to physically force their way into The Hotel at Oberlin, where the Board’s meeting was taking place. Ambar expressed her disappointment in how the last protest transpired, as it “was not a peaceful protest.”

 “This was a first for me, where Oberlin students did not behave peacefully, did not adhere to the request of the police,” President Ambar said.  “This was very much outside of what I have experienced. I’m now in my ninth year here at Oberlin, and I’ve never experienced what I would describe as a breach of our compact with each other, in which students agree to protest peacefully.”

The Board also discussed how to continue improving transparency between the Board and stakeholders, including students, parents, and alumni. For Birenbaum, on-campus meetings provide important accessibility for students to the Board and give the Board ample opportunity to hear directly from students.

“Meeting on campus, participating more in events there, and engaging with students is a good thing,” Birenbaum said. “I think that’s healthy in a lot of different ways. From the Board’s perspective, we would like to keep meeting on the campus.”

The Board will be back on campus in March for their first meeting of 2026.