Is UC regent's vision for higher education clouded by his investments?
Richard C. Blum's ownership of about $700 million in stock of two firms that run for-profit schools raises the question of whether his holdings are consistent with his role as a UC regent.
Allen J. Schaben, Los Angeles Times
Conflicts of interest almost always involve money, but sometimes they raise more questions about the subjects' perspective than about their wallets.
Consider the large investments University of California Regent Richard C. Blum has made in two for-profit higher education companies, Career Education Corp. and ITT Educational Services Inc.
Blum's San Francisco investment firm is the largest shareholder in both firms, owning nearly 20% of Career Education and more than 10% of ITT Educational.
The firm's combined holdings in these two stocks is valued at about $700 million, based on their recent market prices. That sounds like a lot of money, but I think we can concede as a matter of courtesy that Blum, who is a billionaire and the chairman of the real estate firm CB Richard Ellis, probably wouldn't take any action as a regent merely to juice the value of those holdings.
But what do these investments say about Blum's vision for higher education? Should an important official of what is arguably the most prestigious system of public higher education in the world also be a leading financial backer of an