Fossil fuel divestment and the University’s finances and future were among the topics discussed by the Board of Trustees at its Sept. 26 to 27 meeting. In an Oct. 10 email to the Brandeis community, University President Ron Liebowitz described the tone of the meeting as “ optimistic yet realistic.”

Liebowitz shared his “draft framework for Brandeis’ future” with the Board, but no further details were given in the email.

The Board again postponed their decision on fossil fuel divestment. Liebowitz noted in the same email that the divestment decision involves “legitimate concerns about climate change” and that the Board “devoted a significant amount of time” to the question. The Investment Committee also discussed divestment during its meeting.

The Board also debated a possible update to the University’s 1973 Statement on Socially Responsible Investing “to address conditions the university could not have anticipated 45 years ago.” A June 22 email from Liebowitz and Chair of the Board Meyer Koplow stated the Board planned to pass a new investment standard to replace the current policy during these September meetings, according to a Sept. 4 Justice article. The Board did not, however, make a decision on “new guidelines for socially responsible investment” or divestment, according to the Oct. 10 email.

The Board did make a decision on the University’s Principles of Free Speech and Free Expression, unanimously adopting the principles. These principles “serve as the foundation for policies that define what free expression means on our campus,” according to an Oct. 10 letter from Liebowitz to the Brandeis community. These principles have been in development since Nov. 2016, when Liebowitz convened a Presidential Task Force on Free Expression. The task force suggested five guidelines, which were then commented on by members of the Brandeis community. The principles adopted by the Board are based on those five guidelines as well as a sixth, added by Liebowitz which clarify the conditions under which the University might restrict speech.

The Board received reports on the ongoing library union negotiations and the recently ratified graduate student union contract. Trustees also learned about the implementation of Workday, planned for Spring 2019. Workday will replace PeopleSoft, the administrative software that currently manages “human resources, payroll, and finance operations” at Brandeis, according to the Brandeis Workday website.

Trustees also learned about campus surveys planned for Spring 2018: a student climate survey on sexual misconduct, including harassment and assault, and a faculty work-life survey. A previous faculty work-life survey queried tenure and tenure-track faculty, contract faculty, instructors, lecturers, scientists, fellows and senior research associates in Nov. 2014, according to the Office of the Provost’s website.

The University’s finances were discussed frequently throughout the two-day meeting. A report during the Resource Committee meeting said the University had “an operating surplus of $2.9M” fiscal year 2018, making FY18 “the fourth year of positive operating results.”

The Committee also learned about a “new internal (“hybrid”) financial budget model.” Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration Stew Uretsky will present to the University at the end of this month, according to the Oct. 10 email.

Senior Vice President of Institutional Advancement Zamira Korff presented about University finances at the Institutional Advancement Committee meeting. Liebowitz’s email said she reported that donations from alumni and parents increased during FY18, although she also saw “key opportunities for growth in parent and international giving.”

The University’s 10-year reaccreditation process will move forward Nov. 4 to 7, when the reaccreditation evaluation team, led by its chair, Yale President Peter Salovey, will visit campus, per the same email. Brandeis is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education, whose “Standards for Accreditation establish criteria for institutional quality,” according to the Brandeis Reaccreditation website.

In his summary email, Liebowitz said he believes the board left feeling “positive” and “inspired,” but “well aware of the amount of work in front” of them.