Universities and the Military
how does your university tie in?

The University-Industrial-
Academic Complex:
Institutional and Interpersonal Links

University Profiles

Case Study: Richard Blum

UC Regent Richard C. Blum appointed March 2002 will serve as Regent until 2014. Blum sits on the Investments, and DOE (Department of Energy) Lab Oversight committees. Outside of his official position as UC regent he is the Chairman of Blum Capital Management, Co-Chairman of Newbridge Capital, and sits on the boards of Northwest Airlines, Playtex Products, serves as the Co-Chairman of the World Conference on Religion and Peace, and a board Member of the World Wildlife Fund. It is Blumís business holdings that make him a bridge from the military-industrial complex to the UC. According to Blum Capital Managementís website,

"Rigorous research serves as the foundation of Blum Capitalís investment strategy." "Blum Capital views itself as owning a piece of a business, rather than just its stock. We take an ëown the whole business' approach into the public market, but with the support and cooperation of management and the Board." Other investment and business management claims made by Blum include that he seeks, "An opportunity to implement financial and/or business strategies that can materially improve the intrinsic value of the company" And that determinantly, "A close working relationship can be established with management in order to implement these strategies."

Rigorous research is what probably led Regent Blum to invest heavily in URS Corporation, a global construction, engineering, management and services company. Blumís, "own the whole business" approach, and close "support, and cooperation" implies more than just financial support. Blumís corporation seems to promote ethical, even philosophic support for the firms he invests in.

URS Corporation is a leading contractor with the Department of Defense. Its work with the military mostly involves construction, infrastructure management, and services at the corporate level, but the corporationís subsidiaries support much more specialized military activities. One project carried out by URS corp. for the military includes a massive overhaul and reconstruction of the Pentagon basement to facilitate war planning and operations. A URS press release describes the project;

"Planning, architecture and engineering are URS' responsibilities in converting the formerly uninhabitable Pentagon basement into office space, without disrupting building or military operations. The newly renovated 1.1-million-square-foot space will house the National Military Command and Control Center, operations centers for all branches of the Armed Forces, and Department of Defense computer installations."(4).

Other projects carried out by URS for the US military include: A $40 million contract providing environmental services at Air Force Bases worldwide, a $15 million contract for construction management at Air Force Bases worldwide, another Air Force contract to construct a maintenance facility at Hill AFB valued at $32.7 million, and an April 3, 2003 contract with the US Navy to;

"provide technical support on two major Navy Joint Surface Warfare programs ‚ the Cooperative Engagement Capability and Standard Display/Processor System initiatives ‚ as well as several Navy navigation system programs. This five-year contract has a potential value to URS of $53 million."(5)

The Department of Defense is not the only federal customer of URS corp. The Department of Energy hired URS in 2000 to be part of a team to provide engineering, design, and construction services at the UC administered Los Alamos National Laboratory. According to URS the contract has a value of $25 million a year, and is part of a $1.5 billion dollar refurbishment plan to modernize the nationís premier nuclear weapons research and design facility. Regent Blumís investments in URS stand to benefit him from any contracts awarded by the DOE regarding the UC managed nuclear weapons labs, and it doesnít hurt that Blum sits on the DOE Oversight Committee of the UC.

Further down the chain of Blumís investments are two corporations, EG&G, and Siegler Services Inc. Both companies are subsidiaries of URS corp. EG&G was acquired by URS in 2002 in a transaction valued at $500 million dollars. According to URS Chairman Martin Koffel, "...the acquisition of EG&G catapults URS to the forefront as a leading provider in the rapidly growing area of outsourced operations and maintenance services for the federal government, particularly in national and homeland defense".(6) URS bought EG&G and Siegler Services from the Carlyle group, a capital investment firm similar to Blum Capital, but investing solely in military corporations and weapons manufacturers. EG&Gís business activities include:

"engineering and technology services focused on defense-related aviation and ground systems, command, control and electronics systems, global threat reduction and homeland defense. We also provide mission-critical technical services including maintenance, modification, overhaul and service life extension for military aircraft and ground vehicles, logistics support services, systems engineering and military training."(7)

EG&G and its subsidiary Lear Siegler Services are responsible for not only the infrastructure of US military installations and operations, but also warfare systems, and their maintenance. Lear Siegler specializes in aircraft maintenance, and training serving not only the US military, but also its allies worldwide like the Royal Saudi Air Force.

Other UC Regents with connections to the military-industrial complex include Tom Sayles, appointed 1994 and serving until 2006. Outside of his UC position, Sayles is an executive at Sempra Energy Corp. of San Diego. From 1982 to 1991 he served as the senior legal council to TRW Inc., a weapons manufacturer involved heavily in missile, and aerospace technologies. Regent Sherry Lansing, appointed until 2010, sits on the Board of Governors of the RAND Graduate School.(11). RGS is a branch of the RAND corporation, a non-profit organization which runs the National Defense Research Institute, and Project Air Force;

"Project AIR FORCE (PAF) is the product of visionary thinking that led to a RAND-Air Force partnership now approaching its sixth decade. Originally known as Project RAND (an acronym for research and development), PAF was established in 1946 by General H. H. "Hap" Arnold as a way of retaining for the United States Air Force (USAF) the considerable benefits of civilian scientific thinking that had been demonstrated during World War I."(12)

In this way the RAND corp. acts as a bridge between US universities and the military. The RAND Graduate School based in Santa Monica trains the next generations of technocrats and policy makers in topics ranging from welfare to warfare, but RANDís main focus is military and political analysis. Classes offered in 2003 include, "Military Technology and Its Non-military Connections"& "Policy Analysis and Planning in the Defense Department" among others.

Continued: Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3| Page 4