Thank you for your interest in supporting fossil fuel divestment at Tulane University. Please read the letter, and consider signing by filling out the blanks below. Please email any questions to divesttulane@gmail.com  Keep up to date with the campaign at www.divesttulane.org 

Dear President Fitts and the Board of Tulane,

1. We the undersigned alumni call on Tulane University to join with leading universities, churches, hospitals, foundations, non-profits, and cities by fully divesting our endowment from fossil fuels and re-investing a portion of these assets in clean technology and renewable energy;

2. We make this request in light of overwhelming scientific consensus that carbon emissions drive global climate disruptions including stronger hurricanes and rising sea levels that put the rich cultures of New Orleans and Louisiana at risk;

3. We believe that, as a matter of basic values, mission-driven institutions like universities, churches, hospitals, foundations, and non-profits should not hold stock in or seek to profit from activities that directly threaten their missions or harm their constituents;

4. We take special note of the exemplary role that Tulane University played in helping the city of New Orleans recover from Hurricane Katrina.  That role openly conflicts with continuing to hold stock in industries that are causing intensifying storms and coastal flooding;

5. While we believe that moral accountability compels divestment, as a matter of financial self-interest, the best analysis shows that Tulane can divest its assets from fossil fuels with no near-term financial penalty(1) and can actually avoid long-term risk associated with over-valuation of fossil fuels.


1. Geddes, Patrick. Do the Investment Math: Building a Carbon-Free Portfolio. Rep. Sausalito: APERIO GROUP, 2013.