Arizona university system to sell off millions in Russian assets

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Arizona’s public university system is divesting millions of dollars of Russian assets it has on the balance sheet, the latest institution to cut ties with the country over the invasion of Ukraine.

On Monday, the Arizona Board of Regents, which oversees Arizona State University, University of Arizona, and Northern Arizona University, ordered the presidents of each school to begin selling off Russian investments they possess, as well as cutting out these Russian assets from the schools’ associated retirement plans.

“With today’s action, the board repudiates Putin’s aggression and ensures Arizona’s public university enterprise divests of any Russian assets,” Board of Regents chair Lyndel Manson said in a statement, which condemned  “in the strongest possible terms Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion of the sovereign nation of Ukraine and apparent targeting of civilian populations”.

The decision will mean selling off millions of dollars in Russia-related investments. ASU has about $2.3m in Russian investments, according to school officials, while the University of Arizona possesses roughly $1.5m.

Despite the symbolic nature of the divestiture, none of the universities had a large portion of Russian assets to begin with, often making up less than a single per cent of their massive portfolios.

Roughly 1.7 million Ukrainians have fled the conflict, according to the United Nations, and the invasion has caused a significant capital flight from Russia.

American academic institutions, along with fossil fuel companies, entertainment conglomerates, and others, have all cut ties with Russia.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for example, ended its research partnership with the Russian government, which aimed to create a Silicon Valley-style tech hub in the country through the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology.

“This step is a rejection of the actions of the Russian government in Ukraine,” MIT President L. Rafael Reif said of the decision. “We take it with deep regret because of our great respect for the Russian people and our profound appreciation for the contributions of the many extraordinary Russian colleagues we have worked with.”

Others, like Middlebury College, have ceased study abroad programmes in Russia for the time being.

Still others, such as the University Colorado system, have pursued similar full-on divestment efforts like their counterparts in Arizona.

“Like so many others, we have watched in horror as this invasion has brought senseless violence and aggression to the region,” Colorado University president Todd Saliman said, announcing CU’s decision. “We are looking for ways to show our support for the people of Ukraine and believe that cutting our investments is the right thing to do.”

The governors of Virginia, Ohio, Illinois, and California, have called on their states’ public employee pension funds to divest from Russian assets, affecting billions of dollars of investments.