Thursday, October 11, 2018
Weiss Center for the Arts, Rubendall Recital Hall, 3 p.m.
Panelists
Alice Handy, Investure
Sarah Kolansky, Graham Partners
Rob Symington, Dickinson Board of Trustees
What is the purpose of Dickinson’s endowment? How is it managed? Should Dickinson join a growing movement to invest our endowment in ways that align with community values regarding corporate behavior, social justice, environmental stewardship, climate change and other issues? What might be the implications for the performance of our endowment and the financial wellbeing of the college? Is it possible to have a sustainable endowment? Join us for a discussion about these issues.
This event is sponsored by the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues and co-sponsored by the President’s Office, Dickinson Sustainable Investment Group, Board of Trustees, Office of Finance & Administration, and Center for Sustainability Education.
Biographies (provided by the speakers)
Alice Handy founded Investure in December 2003. Prior to founding Investure, Alice spent 29 years managing the endowment of the University of Virginia. She started as the first investment officer, later became treasurer, and finally president of the University of Virginia Investment Management Company. Alice began her career as a bond portfolio manager and assistant vice president at the Travelers Insurance Company. She also served as state treasurer for the Commonwealth of Virginia from October 1988 to January 1990.
Alice earned her B.A. cum laude from Connecticut College and took graduate courses in economics at the University of Virginia. Alice is an active member of the governing council for the Miller Center of the University of Virginia and serves on the boards of Bessemer Securities Corporation and MSCI, Inc. Additionally, she serves on the board of the American Friends of the National Gallery, London, Inc. Alice also serves on the Investment Committees of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation, and the Smithsonian Institute.
Sarah Kolansky joined Graham Partners in 2017 to support the firm’s work on sustainability opportunities and issues, as well as environmental, social and g
overnance (ESG) matters, across its investment portfolio and internally within Graham Partners. Kolansky works with portfolio companies on various sustainability initiatives, including monitoring resource usage, increasing operational efficiency through energy auditing, and evaluating sustainable alternatives to traditional manufacturing processes.
Prior to joining Graham Partners, Kolansky was an associate in Climate Change and Sustainability with ICF, where she worked with local and federal government agencies, as well as with external clients, on various ESG initiatives.
Kolansky received her B.S. in civil and environmental engineering from Bucknell University, where she graduated cum laude, and is pursuing her master of environmental studies from the University of Pennsylvania. Additionally, she passed both the LEED Green Associate exam and the Fundamentals of Engineering exam. She has completed and is credited with five industry publications.
Rob Symington is currently a senior advisor to the Avenue Capital Group as well as a senior lecturer of finance at the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University. Symington was previously the senior portfolio manager for the U.S. Funds at Avenue Capital Group having joined Avenue in 2005. Prior to joining Avenue he was the chief investment officer of the Resurgence Funds at M.D. Sass Investment Services.
Symington has a B.A. in English literature from Dickinson and a M.B.A. from the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University (’92). In addition to being a member of the board of trustees at Dickinson, Symington is a member of the Advisory Council for Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management. He also serves on three private company boards: NextWave Wireless Inc., All-American Poker Network and CycloPure Inc.