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The National Association of College and University Business Officers responded Friday to six Democratic members of Congress who a week earlier asked about diversity and inclusion efforts among higher education endowment managers.
NACUBO is “keenly focused on the importance of diversity in asset management positions, as well as diversity in the business officer profession as a whole,” wrote Susan Whealler Johnston, the association’s president and CEO, in a letter dated Oct. 18.
She went on to outline several actions, like guests for NACUBO events and media broadcasts who address diversity in asset management and socially responsible investing. The association is “strongly optimistic that you will see progress in investment in diversely-owned firms,” Johnston wrote.
The response came after Democrats wrote on Oct. 10 to “both raise awareness and ask for the support of college and university endowment managers” regarding increasing representation of firms with women and minority owners in the asset management industry. Their letter cited the 2018 NACUBO-TIAA Study of Endowments, which asked 802 institutions whether they had a diversity and inclusion plan for hiring managers.
Just 4 percent of participating institutions answered in the affirmative, although 24 percent did not answer. None of 104 institutions with endowments of $1 billion or more answered yes, with 33 percent in that group providing no answer.
The Democratic representatives writing the initial letter were Emanuel Cleaver II of Missouri, Joyce Beatty of Ohio, Marcia L. Fudge of Ohio, Henry C. “Hank” Johnson Jr. of Georgia, Gregory W. Meeks of New York and Terri A. Sewell of Alabama.
