­Gators Mobilize to Divest UF from Prison, Human Rights Abuses, & Fossil Fuel Industries

3.18.2018

A collective of students, admin, alumni, faculty, staff, parents, and community members have launched a campaign to divest the University of Florida’s $1.86 billion endowment. While collaborating with the ongoing Divest Gainesville effort, they are focusing exclusively on Fuchs, Glover, Board of Trustees, UF Foundation and Investment Corporation. Globally, over 150 higher education institutions have already committed to divest from fossil fuels including Yale, UC Santa Barbara, UMass, Oregon State, Oxford, and Cambridge. Similar campus efforts are presently underway at FSU, UCF, USF, and Miami.

DivestUF seeks to make UF the first in the SEC while also expanding their divestment objectives. The group goes beyond fossil fuels to include prison and military firms. Exxon, Lockheed Martin, G4S, Harris, Raytheon, Caterpillar, and Coal India Corporations top their list of companies. This objective is coupled with three commitments the group is seeking from the administration. These include a) closing the Duke Energy coal plant on campus while securing sustainability commitments, b) ending IFAS’s use of prison labor, and c) obtain a permanent seat on the UF Investment Corp’s board.

Media inquires may use the contact page or email DivestUF@gmail.com.