An oversight committee at Brown University has recommended that the Ivy League institution cease investing in the country's 15 largest coal companies.
Wednesday's vote by The Advisory Committee on Corporate Responsibility in Investment Policies (ACCRIP) was hailed by the Brown Divest Coal Campaign, which now wants the university's board of trustees to vote to divest in May.
"The board of trustees can't ignore this recommendation. It can't ignore the pressure from Brown's student body and from students around the world. And it can't ignore the dictates of science and ethics," Jordan Schulz, a student leader for the Brown Divest Coal Campaign, said in a statement.
Brown spokeswoman Marisa Quinn said that President Christina Paxson would review the decision once she receives it.