RWU Faculty Senate votes to cut Wells Fargo ties

THE FACULTY group is asking RWU President Donald Farish to break off the university’s banking relations with the bank, pointing to similar efforts happening in California, Illinois and Chicago.
THE FACULTY group is asking RWU President Donald Farish to break off the university’s banking relations with the bank, pointing to similar efforts happening in California, Illinois and Chicago.

(Updated 12:02 p.m.)
BRISTOL – The Roger Williams University Faculty Senate has voted to sever ties with Wells Fargo, calling the bank’s recent deposits scandal a “gross malfeasance” that’s inconsistent with the values and mission of the university.
The faculty group is asking RWU President Donald Farish to break off the university’s banking relations with the bank, pointing to similar efforts happening in California, Illinois and Chicago.
“The RWU faculty strongly supports the university’s stated commitments to social justice and improving a free society and to our core purpose of educating students, ‘to become reflective, responsible individuals who interact with society in mutually, rewarding ways,” said June Speakman, president of the Faculty Senate. “The board and the president’s state goal of ‘building the university that the world needs now,’ is inconsistent with the business model used by Wells Fargo.”
“The administration takes the concerns raised by the Faculty Senate seriously. We hold ourselves to the highest ethical business standards, and we expect the same of our business partners,” said Farish in a prepared statement. “As a first step, the administration must determine what would be required to unwind such a contractual relationship and what other options for banking services might exist. In addition, we will consult with the Board of Trustees.”
RWU is a business banking customer of Wells Fargo, which has recently come under fire for its creation of unauthorized accounts under the names of unaware customers. About 5,300 employees were fired and the CEO stepped down.
In addition to the recent scandal, the faculty group points to the bank’s recent settlement with Rhode Island for its involvement as an underwriter in the failed 38 Studios business venture, which went bankrupt in 2012 and left Rhode Island taxpayers on the hook to pay back a $75 million loan.
“To stay true to our missions and values, we urge the university to take its banking business elsewhere,” Speakman said.
The faculty group is currently awaiting a response from the university president.

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