Regents Create Task Force to Consider Sudan Divestment

By Ioana Patringenaru I January 23, 2006

A task force will work on a plan to stop the flow of UC dollars that may be going to companies doing business with Sudan, the University of California Board of Regents decided Thursday.

The University of California doesn’t have any direct investments in such companies, but it does invest in funds that include potential offenders, UC spokesman Trey Davis said. The regents decided last week to create the task force in response to student concerns. Student Regent Adam Rosenthal first proposed to pull out funds at the Regents’ November 2005 meeting. Sudan is in the middle of a brutal civil war, which has killed thousands and has driven millions out of their homes in the country’s western region of Darfur.

The regents voted on Jan. 19 to send letters to managers of their foreign investments funds saying they have strong concerns about university dollars being invested in companies engaged in significant business relationships that help the Sudanese government continue acts of genocide in Darfur.

The task force will help identify a specific list of companies and put together a plan to pull out investments. The group also will look at the potential legal and financial consequences of divestment. It’s hard to tell how much money is at stake, Davis said, adding estimates run anywhere from $20 million to $2.6 billion.