Fueling Change: What Makes U.S. Universities Prime for Successful Student-Led Fossil Fuel Divestment?

• In Event: Collective Behavior and Social Movements Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 5: The Power of Student and Youth Movements

Abstract

In response to the ongoing climate crisis, a new generation of college students is joining the global environmental movement. By creating fossil fuel divestment campaigns (FFDCs) on university campuses, students pressure their institution to divest funds from the fossil fuel industry. Due to the novelty of FFDCs, there is limited research on institutional decision-making aspects of the movement. This thesis will reframe the FFD movement quantitatively by examining institutional characteristics that can shape whether these campaigns succeed. Drawing on the Global Fossil Fuel Divestment Commitments Database (GFFDCD) and the National Center for Education Statistics’ Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), I
examine a selection of variables to address the question: What characteristics of U.S. universities, if any, predict successful student-led fossil fuel divestment campaigns? Overall, the statistical analysis revealed that: (1) Public universities are more likely to divest than private ones; (2) Universities in the Northeast and West are more likely to divest than Midwest institutions, with institutions located in Southern or suburban areas being least likely to divest from fossil fuels; (3) Universities with a higher percentage of African American/Black students are less likely to divest from fossil fuels, whereas a higher percentage of Asian students or students with two or more races is associated with a greater likelihood of divestment; and (4) More selective schools (those with lower acceptance rates) are more likely to divest. Future researchers should examine FFDCs qualitatively to better understand the unique circumstances that each campaign faces in their pursuit of divestment.
Keywords: environmental movement, fossil fuel divestment campaigns, student-led activism, institutional characteristics

Author

• Sophia E Wood, University of Michigan