Letter to Todd Saliman, President of the University of Colorado - Governor Polis Urges Institutions of Higher Education To Examine Divestiture of Russian State-Owned Assets

Letter

President Todd Saliman,

The Russian invasion of the sovereign democracy of Ukraine was a premeditated and
unjustifiable attack that has already led to the loss of life. Colorado is home to approximately
11,000 Ukrainian Americans -- many of whom still have family in Ukraine. We stand in support
of Ukrainian Coloradans and their family and countrymen in Ukraine whose lives, liberty, and
freedom are threatened by the large-scale Russian invasion. While there are normal
disagreements between nations that occur, the outright violent invasion of a neighboring peaceful
country is simply not acceptable in today's world.

President Biden announced numerous significant sanctions against Russia, including cutting off
large Russian financial institutions and their subsidiaries, disallowing Russian state-owned
companies from raising money in U.S. markets, preventing certain technological imports from
the U.S. to Russia, and other sanctions on government-related individuals and the Russian
military.

My administration supports these federal sanctions against the Russian government and Russian
state-owned institutions. Colorado is also acting to condemn Russia's actions on a state-level and
to support Ukrainians home and abroad. On February 24, 2022, I issued Executive Order D 2022
011 ensuring the Office of Information Technology (OIT) will focus resources on protecting the
State from Russian cyber-attacks and directing OIT and the Department of Personnel &
Administration (DPA) to review relevant State contracts to verify that Colorado is not
contracting with or investing in Russian state-owned companies.

Colorado is also home to over 55,000 Russian-born Americans, and as we take these steps, we
take them against the Russian government, not the Russian people, many of whom oppose these
acts and are also working actively to end this aggression.

I know that we share our condemnation of Russia's actions and will move together to ensure that
Colorado's dollars are not used to support the Russian government. I ask that your institution: (1)
completely divest your endowment of any Russian-owned assets; (2) terminate all contracts with
the Russian-government; and (3) terminate all grants in which the Russian-government or
Russian institutions of higher education are the primary beneficiary.

We will stand on the side of freedom and proudly support a democratic and independent
Ukraine. War, violence, and chaos threaten the very foundations of the global economy and our
national security. Colorado will not turn its head. We will take affirmative actions to support
Ukrainians and hold Russia accountable. We hope that these actions are short-lived and that the
great nation of Russia soon returns to being a proud and peaceful, and your actions can hasten
that day.

Sincerely,

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