Regents set to drop tobacco stocks

  Daily Bruin File Photo Regent Judith
Hopkinson speaks with Student Regent Justin
Fong at a meeting last May. The board meeting continues
today.

By Benjamin Parke
Daily Bruin Reporter

SAN FRANCISCO “”mdash; A policy to exclude tobacco stocks from
the university’s investment portfolio sailed through the UC
Board of Regents’ committee on investments Wednesday,
encountering no opposition.

A final vote by the full board is set for today, but approvals
of such committee actions are generally a matter of procedure.

The tobacco vote was among several decisions made in the course
of the meeting at UC San Francisco, which continues today.
Committee approval was also given for UCLA participation in a
“Global Film School” and for changes in the UC
retirement plan.

The prospect of the university investing in tobacco stocks as it
moves a slice of its investments into index funds prompted
opposition from health groups, as well as from some students and
members of the faculty. Speakers from all three of those
backgrounds used the public comment period to voice their
opposition to that possibility, but the action taken by the
committee proceeded with no discussion other than one
regent’s informational question.

“The information you have before you is fairly
comprehensive,” said Regent Judith Hopkinson as she briefly
introduced the agenda item.

She referred to the first paragraph of UC President Richard
Atkinson’s recommendation on the issue as the basis of the
decision the regents were making. It cited “the convergence
of a number of factors,” including financial risk, health
issues, the current practice of the UC treasurer and the
availability of tobacco-free index funds as reasons for adopting
the policy.

Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, a regent by virtue of his office, was
at the meeting for the vote. He quickly released a statement
praising his fellow regents for their action, saying that he was
“glad they have seen the light.”

Approval for UCLA to participate in a “Global Film
School” was another agenda item that was summarily passed
without discussion. Chancellor Albert Carnesale was walking toward
the regents’ table to be on hand for questions when Finance
Committee Chair Peter Preuss called a vote, in which there were no
objections.

School of Theater, Film & Television Dean Robert Rosen said
he was ready to make a presentation to the regents before it became
apparent that it would not be needed. The regents, in fact, had
discussed the issue previously in meetings last year, expressing
concerns over matters such as intellectual property.

The school will be a collaboration between UCLA, the National
Film and Television School of Great Britain and the Australian
Film, Television and Radio School. Class meetings will take place
online.

There will also be private-sector “strategic
partners” involved, something that contributed to the initial
concerns from regents ““ and about a year’s worth of
consultations with faculty organizations.

“One of the good things about the process is that these
issues, such as intellectual property, protecting the good name of
the university and faculty oversight in creating curriculum have
been addressed and resolved,” Rosen said. “That’s
why it’s taken a year.”

He said the setup of the school is similar to the university
extension. Since the proposal was first announced, more than 90,000
requests for more information have been received, Rosen said.
Discussions are still under way with prospective partners, which
include major software and hardware manufacturers.

“There’s no risk financially to the university
because all of the money comes from the partners,”Rosen
said.

In return, those partners get to “show off” their
wares to the public, and may ultimately share in any revenues that
are generated.

Regent Sherry Lansing, noting the lack of financial risk to UC,
called the school “an exciting experiment.” As head of
Paramount Pictures, Lansing has informed her colleagues of the
particulars of the project.

“We’re going into the territory of the unknown, and
it will be exciting to see if it works,” Lansing said.

The school will offer basic filmmaking training ““ much of
it in digital video ““ as well as courses in film appreciation
and history. A media literacy component will target K-12
students.

“The ability to express yourself using sound and images
will take its place alongside other forms of literacy in the 21st
century,” Rosen said.

The school is due to begin demonstration courses in six months,
and a regular program for Fall 2002.

Also at the meeting, President Atkinson addressed
California’s energy crisis in his opening comments. He said
the university would work to meet a call for state universities to
move toward energy independence, which Gov. Gray Davis made in his
state of the state speech earlier this month.

Measures will include increasing the ability of campuses to
generate power ““ expanding capacity at UCLA and the San
Francisco and San Diego campuses. Planning will begin immediately
for new plants at Davis and Irvine, among others

As the board meeting continued, the state failed to meet its
energy demands and rolling blackouts were ordered, sweeping the
northern portion of the state.

Regents in the committee on finance also approved changes to the
university’s retirement plan, resulting in an increase in
payouts for some retirees.