Donald Gould
Claremont, Calif. (April 07, 2015)—Pitzer College trustee and investment manager Donald P. Gould will participate in a debate about fossil fuel divestment at MIT on April 9, 2015. “Should MIT Divest? A Debate on Fossil Fuel Investment” is part of the MIT Climate Change Conversation, a series of events designed to explore different facets of divestment from fossil fuel companies.
Gould, who is chair of the Pitzer College Board of Trustees’ investment committee and chaired the Climate Change Working Group, will be one of six prominent figures in the national discussion about whether higher education institutions should shed fossil fuel investments. In April 2014, Gould led the Pitzer College Board of Trustees’ unanimous approval of a new Fossil Fuel Divestment-Climate Action Model, making Pitzer the first higher education institution in Southern California to commit to divesting its endowment of fossil fuel stocks.
A trustee of Pitzer College since 2006, Donald Gould is the president and chief investment officer of Gould Asset Management, which he founded in 1999. Drawing on more than three decades of experience in the field of finance, he has developed innovative investment strategies designed to meet the needs of real-world investors as well as the ethical implications of financial decisions. Gould holds a BA in economics from Pomona College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
“Should MIT Divest? A Debate on Fossil Fuel Investment” will be moderated by Tony Cortese of the Intentional Endowments Network. Joining Gould on the “pro” divestment side of the debate will be Naomi Oreskes, professor of history of science at Harvard University and John Sterman, the Jay W. Forrester Professor of Management at the MIT Sloan School of Management. Across the philosophical aisle debating against fossil fuel divestment will be Brad Hager, MIT professor of earth sciences and director of the MIT Earth Resources Laboratory; Frank Wolak, professor of economics and director of the Program on Energy and Sustainable Development at Stanford University; and Timothy Smith, director of ESG Shareowner Engagement at Walden Asset Management.
Please visit MIT’s website for more information on the event and the MIT Climate Change Conversation.
