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By Trigie Ealey
Arizona Daily Wildcat
October 21, 1996
The pension fund for over 1.8 million college faculty members nationwide will conduct a vote this month on resolutions to divest in tobacco-related stocks and to limit the pay of corporate executives.The Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association - College Retirement Equities Fund has assets of more than $170 billion, most of which is invested in corporations.
There are 1,757 contributing University of Arizona participants, according to the association's public relations office. There are nearly 1.5 million shareholders in the fund.
Douglas Kelley, a retired administrator from the University of Michigan-Flint, said the association has more than $1.5 billion for educator's retirement invested in the tobacco industry.
"Tobacco kills a third of its long-time users," he said. "People I talk to about this find it so outrageous and objectionable. We are trying to get teachers' retirement out of the tobacco business."
Kelley, who along with four others, is a co-sponsor of the resolution.
He said the resolution had support from 12 percent of the voters two years ago and 20 percent of the vote last year.
"The tobacco industry uses the Marlboro man and Joe Camel, though they claim that these (images) aren't aimed at kids," Kelley said. "They manipulate the public. We are going to keep proposing it until we win."
The other resolution seeks to limit compensation packages given to executives of corporations the fund invests in. Such compensation packages often include salary, benefits, bonuses and stock options.
The limit, described as moderate by the Preamble Center for Public Policy, would have a limit of $3 million a year or 150 times the median annual wage.
Mark Weisbolt, an economist with Preamble, said the vote would have a major impact on Wall Street. The center is a policy institute supporting the resolution.
"We think businesses will respond to the influence of the largest pension fund in the world," Weisbolt said. "I can't imagine why anyone in the world would take a position against this proposal."
Faculty members investing in the fund who were reached by phone said they had not yet heard about the resolutions.
Michael Wells, biochemistry professor, said he would support both resolutions.
Kenneth Clark, chairman of the Interdisciplinary Planning Program in the department of architecture, said he was not in favor of the corporate executive resolution.
"I support divestiture in tobacco," he said. "But I don't feel strongly about the other resolution (corporate executives salaries)."
Mail-in ballots will be sent to fund contributors in advance of the funds annual meeting in New York City Nov. 11.
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