A Look Back at the Freeport Debate
- 1987: Cunningham, then UT president, becomes a member of Freeport-McMoRan's board of directors.
- 1988: The Environmental Protection Agency names Freeport the top corporate polluter in the U.S., citing its hazardous waste dumping into the Mississippi River.
- April 11, 1990: The University announces that Jim Bob Moffett, Freeport CEO, and his wife have donated $3 million to the University, $2 million for "a capital project in the College of Natural Sciences."
- Nov. 25, 1990: Cunningham participates in a student forum concerning his role on Freeport's board of directors and the University's ties with the company. Cunningham said, "I have never been involved with any project, in my opinion, which would endanger or damage the environment."
- Dec. 1, 1994: UT System Board of Regents approves the naming of the new molecular biology building in honor of Moffett.
- April 1995: The Australian Council for Overseas Aid cites numerous human rights abuses, including tortures and killings at Freeport's Indonesian mine. The report named the Indonesian military and Freeport security as perpetrators of the crimes.
- August 1995: Report by the Catholic Church of Jayapura also cites several human rights abuses at the mine site and confirms many of ACFOA's accusations.
- Sep. 11, 1995: Steven Feld, UT professor of anthropology, announces his resignation from the University in a letter to Cunningham.
- Sep. 22, 1995: The National Human Rights Commission of Indonesia releases a report saying "clear and identifiable human rights violations have occurred," on and near the Freeport mine. The commission attributed all abuses to the Indonesian military, saying they were in the process of "safeguarding [Freeport's] mining operations."
- Oct. 31, 1995: The Overseas Private Investment Corporation, a federal agency which provides insurance for American companies operating overseas, cancels a $100 million political risk insurance policy, alleging numerous environmental abuses at Freeport's mine in Indonesia.
- Nov. 14, 1995: Freeport officials hold a press conference in Austin denying any involvement by Freeport employees in any human rights abuses.
- Nov. 16, 1995: A UT student group announces that 3,150 students and faculty members have signed a petition demanding that the regents change the name of the molecular biology building.
- Nov. 17, 1995: Berdahl places a full page ad in the Texan saying he "cannot support any effort to reverse commitments already made by the University and Board of Regents with regard to the naming of the molecular biology building."
- Nov. 22, 1995: Hermann Munninghoff, the bishop of Jayapura, denies in a letter that he made allegations against Freeport. The letter said the bishop had found human rights violations had occurred, but media organizations, and not the bishop himself, have drawn connections between the murders and the company.
- Dec. 1, 1995: UT System Faculty Advisory Council approves a resolution to "encourage" the Board of Regents to solicit faculty input before naming any building on UT System campuses.
- Dec. 11, 1995: Berdahl considers a task force to allow faculty members to be involved in naming future buildings.
- Dec. 14, 1995: Freeport sends letters to seven individuals, including three UT professors, threatening to take legal action against their "false and damaging" accusations of human rights abuses in Indonesia.
- Dec. 14, 1995: Cunningham resigns from Freeport's board of directors.