ASWU and Task Force to vote on divestment bylaws in coming week amid push from students

AWSU Members speak in Montag Center for endowment vote on April 10th, 2025. Photo by Iris McClure.

The Associated Students of Willamette University (ASWU) Endowment Task Force held a town hall event on Thursday, March 13 to discuss their findings along with public comment on thoughts regarding divestment and use of endowment funds for students. The task force was created to “evaluate if the endowment is being used in the best way possible,” according to Treasurer and President-elect Stevie Bergstrom (’26).

The Task Force committee and town hall panel featured ASWU executive members including President Anastasiia Lemesh (’26) and Bergstrom in addition to ASWU senators Ernest Jones (’28) and Evyn Baker (’26). Ronan Cole (’28) and Ben Delevaux (’26) contributed to both the task force and the town hall as student representatives. The variety of individuals involved was done in hopes to reflect the desires of the student body. 

The ASWU Task Force has come to two options regarding the future of the endowment— either ASWU can continue with the current plan and invest alongside the university, or they can divest and use a separate endowment management company. Currently, the ASWU endowment is a quasi-endowment, meaning ASWU can allocate funds where they think necessary. Up to this point, it has been invested the same as the university endowment.

Each College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) student pays approximately $142 towards the ASWU endowment each year. The ASWU endowment currently stands at around $394,452, and approximately 2.5% is invested, which is around $9,861. The company both ASWU and Willamette use to invest is Global Endowment Management (GEM), an investment service that was founded in 2007 and runs an “endowment-style investment program” according to its website. This means that the company attempts to invest in multiple forms of asset classes, from real estate to private equity. 

The Task Force will vote on the two aforementioned options within the next two weeks, and then they will create draft bylaw amendments regarding the endowment. These changes will be presented to the ASWU senate to be voted on. If they vote to divest, and ASWU approves the bylaw changes, it would mean that the ASWU endowment would find a different investor. This decision would also make the ASWU endowment entirely separate from the university endowment, giving full authority to the ASWU treasurer. Ultimately, to divest from the current status-quo of GEM would be “leaving the comfort zone” according to Bergstrom.

This creation of a task force comes at a time when college students across the country are pushing for their universities to divest from companies that are complicit in the Israel-Hamas war. Students at Willamette have organized multiple times since the push in the 1980s to divest in companies that were complacent with Apartheid South Africa. Recently, in the spring semester of 2024, students participated in an occupation of the Putnam University Center, calling for Willamette’s general endowment to be divested. 

One of the concerns regarding ASWU divestment is the workload presented for the future treasurer, adding onto a large to-do list. The ASWU treasurer manages the funding of over 90 clubs and organizations on campus, such as the Outdoor Program. Currently, ASWU is reaping the benefits of investment without the work, considering an outside manager through GEM works solely on both ASWU’s and Willamette’s endowment. “Whatever decision we make eventually falls on the shoulders of the treasurer,” said Bergstrom. 

An expressed criticism among students at the town hall was a perceived lack of urgency in both ASWU and the treasurer to investigate the endowment and add it to the forefront of the responsibilities of the treasurer. Bergstrom stated in an interview that she felt ASWU had let students down by not prioritizing timeliness or attention with regard to the endowment earlier, noting that “ASWU dropped the ball on that.” 

The ASWU Task Force will be voting on the endowment sometime in the coming weeks and, if the amendment is passed, will present to the senate soon after. ASWU assured a full, detailed report of their reasoning behind any decision they reach on the amendment of the bylaws.

This is a developing story. Further coverage will be posted online as more information is received.

Editor's note: A previous version of the this story, including the printed version, incorrectly stated that the Community Action Fund for Equity and Sustainability (CAFES) was ASWU-funded.