iC ioan 4,1)atIV
Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
michigandaily.com
'U' invests $814.8
million in energy
FLY HIGH LIKE PAPER
All companies in
portfolio part of
oil industry
By PAIGE PEARCY
Daily News Editor
When University Presi-
dent Mary Sue Coleman
announced an array of Uni-
versity sustainability initia-
tives, the cost of the programs
amounted to a $14 million
investment.
However, the University
also committed $60 million
to the energy sector of its
long-term portfolio last June,
composed entirely of compa-
nies associated with oil.
About half of the longterm
portfolio is composed of mar-
ketable securities, including
cash and equities, while the
other half is made up of alter-
native assets, which is divid-
ed into four different sectors
- venture capital, private
equity, real estate and energy.
Returns to the University's
endowment help contrib-
ute to sustainability efforts
among other things, and were
worth $7.8 billion last June.
Of that $7.8 billion, $814.8
million was invested in the
energy sector.
In an investments report
distributed to the Univer-
sity's Board of Regents, all 15
of the companies - includ-
ing Merit Energy Company,
Natural Gas Partners, Encap
Energy and Yorktown Energy
Partners - are in the energy
sector and related to the oil
industry. While the inve§t-
ment report does not spe-
cifically say that all of the
companies invested in by the
University are associated
with oil, the individual com-
panies listed in the report
all support, finance or invest
in oil companies by, among
other things, acquiring prop-
erty with producingreserves,
investing in drilling andtech-
nology or investing equity in
oil companies.
At 10 percent, most of
the endowment invested in
energy and subsequently, oil
companies, is lower than the
other investment sectors but
it had a large return for the
endowment last year at 30
percent, or about $244.4 mil-
lion - far more than the $14
million sustainability invest-
ment.
"Oil prices ended the year
approximately 30 percent
higher than at the begin-
ning and natural gas prices
remained relatively flat,"
the University's investment
report reads. "The increase in
oil prices positively impacted
the valuations of the reserves
CON T INU iN G SE R IES
SUSTAINABIUTY
ON CAMPUS
held by our reserve acquisi-
tion managers and the energy
private equity managers in
our portfolio continued to
take advantage of a strong
market to sell portfolio com-
panies."
Despite increasing oil pric-
es that contribute to the posi-
tive endowment return, the
University invested nearly
$3 million, accompanied by
a $720,000 grant from the
Department of Energy, to
purchase seven hybrid buses.
The University also spent
$700,000, in addition to a
$60,000 from another DOE
grant to purchase hybrid
sedans for the University's
fleet.
Fitzgerald said the Uni-
versity prefers to not com-
ment about detailed investing
choices like the number of oil
companies invested in.
"We specifically as a Uni-
versity take an approach of
not talking in detail about our
investments because invest-
ments are something that
people are constantly looking
at to try to get hints," Fitzger-
ald said.
Universities investing
See ENERGY, Page 5A
PAUL SHERMAN/Daily
Members of Do Random Acts of Kindness make paper air planes in Mason Hall yesterday.
ELECTION 2012
Romney regains
momentum in Fla.
Former Gov. takes
46 percent of vote,
beats Gingrich
By ANDREW SCHULMAN
Daily StaffReporter
Former Massachusetts Gov.
Mitt Romney earned a double-
digit victory in last night's Florida
Republican presidential primary,
as he fought off criticism from
rivals and a possible surge by for-
mer House Speaker Newt Gin-
grich.
Romney, who has won every
Republican primary contest thus
far except for a defeat in South
Carolina on Jan. 21, seized 46
percent of the vote, outpacing
his nearest rival, Gingrich, by 14
percent. The victory extends the
frontrunner's
lead as the
nomina-
tion process
winds toward
his home
state of Mich-
igan on Feb. 28, University profes-
sors and students said last night.
Speaking in front of support-
ers at his victory party in Tampa,
See ROMNEY, Page 5A
CAMPUS SAFETY
Ann Arbor,
city officials
work toward
safer campus
New group to
try to increase
collaboration
By ADAM RUBENFIRE
Daily News Editor
Six months after a string of
assaults occurred near campus,
University organizations are still
working to increase safety initia-
tives in the community.
Last September, students and
University officials launched
Beyond the Diag, a program
aimed to raise awareness of
student safety and commu-
nity involvement in response
to four sexual assaults and two
other assaults that occurred in
July. In addition to this group, a
newly formed organization aims
to unite the Ann Arbor Police
Department, the University's
Department of Public Safety and
the University's Sexual Assault
Prevention and Awareness Cen-
ter in an effort to continue to pro-
mote community well-being.
The recent partnership, the
Student Safety Workgroup, is
part of a collaboration with Holly
Rider-Milkovich, director of
SAPAC, John Seto, deputy chief
of the Ann Arbor Police Depart-
See SAFETY, Page 5A
CAT NAP
GRADUATE STUDENT EMPLOYEES
Michigan AG aims
- 'to delay hearing
Art and Design junior Lindsey Eldredge-Fox naps between classes in the Art and Architecture building yesterday.
STUDENT LIFE
Student comp etes in
Jeopardy!tourna-ment
Schuette files
motion with state
Supreme Court
By RAYZA GOLDSMITH
Daily News Editor
Michigan Attorney Gen-
eral Bill Schuette filed another
motion yesterday in a last-ditch
attempt to postpone today's
hearing before an administrative
judge to determine the ability of
graduate student research assis-
tants to vote on whether they
want to unionize.
Yesterday, Schuette filed an
emergency motion to stay with
the, Michigan Supreme Court.
The attorney general's move is
an attempt to delay the hear-
ing until its conditions have
been changed. In addition to the
motion, Schuette also appealed
a previous ruling made by the
Michigan Employment Relations
Commission that denied him the
right to intervene in the proceed-
ings.
The motion to stay would give
the Michigan Supreme Court
time to reconsider Schuette's
argument and perhaps allow him
to intervene in a future adminis-
trative hearing.
Stephen Raiman, founder of
Students Against GSRA Union-
ization, said though he doesn't
think the hearing will be pushed
back, his group agrees with
Schuette's decision to file the
motion.
"It's what lawyers do," Raiman
said. " ... (they) try everything
(and) explore every avenue.
Rackham student Sam Mont
gomery, president of the Gradu-
ate Employees' Organization
expressed her disappointment
with the motion in a statement
sent to The Michigan Daily yes-
terday.
"We view this as another
attempt to delay due process and
distract from the real intentionof
the MERC proceedings," Mont-
gomery wrote. "We believe that
GSRAs are employees who have
the right to form a union if they
so choose."
Schuette's initial motion to
intervene was denied by MERC
due to a requirement stating that
the case needs to be contentious
for a third-party to intervene,
according to the appeal.
According to Raiman, the
motion's filing implies that those
opposed to GSRA unionization
anticipate that GEO will succeed
in the hearing. Raiman added
that he anticipates the hearing,
which starts today, could last up
to three days.
"We do believe that the hear-
ing wont be fair," Raiman said.
"(There is a) significant unfair
advantage to GEO at the hearing,
so I do believe that it is proper for
See HEARING, Page SA
Si
LSAjunior their peers was in California,
vying for the chance to win
elected out of $100,000.
LSA junior Connie Shi was
12,000 selected out of about 12,000
applicants to be a contestant in
ALICIA ADAMCZYK the Jeopardy! College Cham-
For the Daily pionship, airing weeknights
starting tonight through Feb.
hile most University stu- 14. Shi is competing against
were trekking to class 14 other undergraduates from
slush last month, one of schools across the nation,
including Harvard University,
Stanford University, Columbia
University, Vanderbilt Univer-
sity and Duke university.
After she was selected to
compete on the show, Shi was
flown to California early last
month to tape the show. The
two-week special took two
days to film, and Shi said the
experience was much different
See JEOPARDY, Page SA
By
WI
dents
in the
S WEATHER
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