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NYU Board of Trustees Considering Divesting From Fossil Fuel Companies

 The NYU Board of Trustees is considering divesting from fossil fuels.
The NYU Board of Trustees is considering divesting from fossil fuels.
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DNAinfo/Andrea Swalec

GREENWICH VILLAGE — New York University's Board of Trustees is considering divesting from fossil fuel companies after pressure from students, faculty and alumni.

The board's Investment Committee met with four students and two alumni Tuesday morning and promised to consider divestment and make a presentation to the board about it at their meeting in June.

The committee's decision to consider fossil fuel divestment came after the University Senate issued a resolution in April 2015 after 80 percent of their body voted in favor of divestment.

"The Board of Trustees takes the University Senate's resolution on fossil fuel divestment seriously, and asked the members of the Investment Committee to take the lead on the matter on behalf of the Board," said NYU spokesman John Beckman. "The Investment Committee's meeting with [student activist group] NYU Divest was part of their effort to fully understand the issue so as to make a thorough report to the Board."

NYU has divested for ethical or moral reasons at least twice before: from companies supporting apartheid in South Africa and from companies funneling weapons into war-torn Sudan just a few years ago.

The school has positioned itself as a leader in addressing issues of climate change with a number of programs and commitments to make the university more "green," including a goal of reducing their carbon emissions by 50 percent by the year 2025.