In accordance with Temple University policy 03.70.02 which states that “Temple University exists for the transmission of knowledge, the pursuit of truth, the development of students, and the general well-being of society”, as members of the Temple community, we wish to address the relationship between Temple University, PNC Bank and Mountain Top Removal coal mining (MTR).

PNC Bank is the number one financier of Mountain Top Removal Coal Mining (MTR) in the United States. PNC received $740,000 from Temple University in 2009 for banking services and they are the dominant financial institution on Temple’s campus. Due to PNC Bank’s exposure to MTR, we demand an end to Temple University’s relationship with PNC unless PNC adopts a sector exclusion policy for MTR.

Although PNC Bank has publicly stated that they “will not provide funding to individual MTR projects, nor will PNC provide credit to coal producers whose primary extraction method is MTR" they have failed to demonstrate to the public how this policy has changed their investments.  

Mountain Top Removal is a particularly destructive form of surface coal mining that dynamites the tops of mountains and dumps toxic waste into the valley and streams below.  Recent scientific studies have confirmed increased rates of birth defects and cancer in populations living near MTR sites.

As representatives of the Temple community, we demand that this topic and the specifics of the relationship between Temple, PNC, and MTR be explicitly addressed by the Board of Trustees.

Our demands are as follows:

1.      The Temple University Board of Trustees immediately adopt a clear and categorical public statement against the practice and financing of MTR.

2.      The Temple University Board of Trustees join the student body in demanding higher standards of moral and ethical practices in investment institutions and demand a sector exclusion for participating in and financing MTR of all companies in partnership with Temple University.

3.      Temple University divest itself of all investments in companies and institutions that fail to adopt this exclusion and continue to practice or finance MTR.

4.      Temple University terminate institutional relationships with any corporation that fails to issue a sector exclusion for the practice or financing of MTR by January 2013.

Sincerely,