Professor Joo Comments on UC Pensions for New York Times
Professor Thomas Joo commented for a story in the New York Times which reported that Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), a private firm that manages University of California investments, voted against shareholder resolutions designed to promote human rights, environmental sustainability, and efforts to fight discrimination. According to the article, documents show that ISS voted on the University's behalf against nonbinding resolutions that would have encouraged companies to set goals for lower emissions of greenhouse gases, carry out policies prohibiting discrimination against individuals based on sex or sexual identity, report political contributions, form human rights committees, and improve treatment of animals.
Professor Joo commented that with pension funds failing across the country, the university must consider the "ultimate beneficiaries" of its investments.
"What do the beneficiaries want?" he asked. "Do they want to be socially responsible or do they want to have retirement money when they retire?"
Joo, a professor at UC Davis School of Law, specializes in the areas of corporate governance and race and the law.