Harvard Endowment Hires Environment Head Amid Divestment Demands

Harvard University hired Jameela Pedicini as vice president for sustainable investing, a position created in the wake of student activist calls for the world’s richest school to purge its holdings of fossil-fuel companies.

Pedicini, who most recently was the investment officer for global governance at the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, will work for Harvard Management Co., the university-controlled investment arm that oversees more than $30 billion of assets. She will report to Kathryn Murtagh at the Boston-based company and provide support for the university’s committee on shareholder responsibility, according to a statement today.