Major US Universities Begin Pulling Investments in Russia

Some of the most notable higher education institutions across the United States have begun scaling back or eliminating financial ties with Russia in response to the country's invasion of Ukraine.

The University of Michigan is the latest to announce its departure from investments in Russia, announcing on Monday that it would ''move as quickly as practical to exit its remaining investments.''

Yale University President Peter Salovey told the Yale Daily News last week that millions of dollars in the university's endowment were pulled from Russian investments following the invasion.

''The endowment has no manager relationships in Russia or who focus on Russia, and we haven't for over two decades,'' Salovey told the school paper. ''We are pleased that FTSE has decided to remove Russia from its index, which eliminates the very small passive indirect exposure to Russia that we previously held.''

The University of Colorado said on March 3 it was ''taking steps to exit from its investments in Russian companies.''

''Like so many others, we have watched in horror as this invasion has brought senseless violence and aggression to the region,'' said Todd Saliman, the university's president..

''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.''

''These are small but important steps we can take as a university to stand with the people of Ukraine at this hour,'' said Jack Kroll, chairman of the university's board of regents.

In February, Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced it was ending its relationship with a private graduate research university in Russia, The Boston Globe reported at the time.

''This step is a rejection of the actions of the Russian government in Ukraine,'' a statement by the university read. ''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.''

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