Radcliffe Committee Will Issue Criteria for Moral Investment

The Radcliffe Advisory Committee on Shareholder Responsibility will advise the college's Board of Trustees by January of guidelines the college should follow when determining if its investments are morally and ethically sound, Jane C. Edmonds '73, chairman of the committee, said yesterday.

The committee's recommendations will be "a basic framework the Trustees' Finance Committee should follow to ensure their investment policies are ethical." Edmonds, who is chairman of The Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, said.

The committee has been "buried with information and position papers" on the question of the morality of South Africa-related investments. Edmonds said, adding that its activities and upcoming recommendation will not be limited solely to the issue of South Africa.

Untying the Gordian Knot

The committee, made up of three students, three alumni, and three parents, and formed last spring, is charged with advising the Board of Trustees on the moral and ethical issues surrounding Radcliffe's investments.

Mary Howard '82, a member of the committee, said yesterday the committee decided to draw up the guidelines because it was not completely satisfied with the policy of the Corporation's Advisory Committee on Shareholder Responsibility. Harvard's committee has not drawn up set guidelines, but instead has decided to deal with ethical controversies springing from Harvard's investments as they arise.

Rev. John Snow, professor of Pastoral Theory at Episcopal Divinity School and a member of the committee, said yesterday the committee believes there should be consistency between an "institution's immediate policies and its strongly held principles."

Snow said the committee has not yet issued a recommendation after six months because of the "almost overwhelming" amount of information and opinions on the South Africa issue.

Howard said the "people on the committee are very, very thoughtful and concerned, not only about issues surrounding Radcliffe but about the international scope of U.S. business.