Jan 18, 2008

Pattiz appointed chair of laboratory governing boards

Date: 2008-01-17
Contact: Chris Harrington
Phone: (202) 997-3150
Email: Chris.Harrington@ucdc.edu

The University of California Board of Regents today (Jan. 17) selected Norman J. Pattiz as chairman of the Board of Governors of both Los Alamos National Security LLC (LANS LLC) and Lawrence Livermore National Security LLC (LLNS LLC). LANS and LLNS were formed to manage and operate Los Alamos National Laboratory and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, respectively.

UC Board of Regents Chairman Richard C. Blum and UC President Robert C. Dynes jointly recommended his appointment. Pattiz's appointment is effective March 1, 2008, upon the resignation of the current chairman, Gerald L. Parsky.

"Norm Pattiz will bring great business acumen and proven leadership skill to the governance of these laboratories," said Blum. "His tremendous experience in the corporate sector and with government, as well as his understanding of the laboratories and the important work they do, will make a substantial contribution to their effective management."

Pattiz, a member of the UC Board of Regents since 2001, is serving a term set to expire in March 2014. Pattiz has served as a member of the Regents' Committee on Oversight of the Department of Energy Laboratories since 2001 and as its chairman since 2007. In addition, he has served as a university member advisory governor to the boards of LANS and LLNS since 2007.

"I am pleased to assume this responsibility and to continue to work closely with the corporate partners and both labs to ensure strong and effective management of these important facilities," said Pattiz. "Los Alamos and Livermore National Laboratories and the people who work there are an incredible scientific, technological and national security resource to our country, and I look forward to working with them."

Pattiz is the founder and chairman of Westwood One, America's largest radio network company, which owns, manages or distributes NBC Radio Network, CBS Radio Network, the Metro Networks and CNN Radio. It is the nation's largest producer of news, sports, talk and entertainment programming. In addition, Pattiz is a former member of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), having been appointed by Presidents Clinton and Bush. The BBG oversees all U.S. non-military international broadcasting including Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, Worldnet Television, Radio and TV Marti and the Middle East Broadcasting Network. As chairman of the BBG's Middle East committee, Pattiz was responsible for conceiving and launching Radio Sawa and Alhurra Television. Pattiz is past president of the Broadcast Education Association.

Pattiz has received numerous professional and leadership awards. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and Pacific Council on International Policy, is director of the Office of Foreign Relations of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, and serves on the Region 1, Homeland Security Advisory Council. Pattiz has served on the board of the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California, the Communications Board of UCLA and the Dean's Advisory Board of California State University, Fullerton.

LANS and LLNS are each governed by a Board of Governors. Each Board of Governors includes a six-person Executive Committee. Under the LLC agreements between the university and its corporate partners, the university is entitled to appoint three individuals to the Executive Committee of each LLC, including the chairman of the Board of Governors.

About the University of California
The University of California, founded in 1868, is a system of 10 campuses with a mission of teaching, research and public service. With 214,000 undergraduate and graduate students, UC is the world's premier public research university. UC has five medical schools, four law schools and the nation's largest continuing education program. Fifty researchers affiliated with UC have been awarded Nobel Prizes; 18 of theses prestigious awards have been won since 1995. UC also has more than 350 members in the National Academy of Sciences, and UC-affiliated researchers have received 56 Medals of Science since Congress created the award in 1959. UC is involved in the management of three national laboratories on behalf of the Department of Energy -- Lawrence Berkeley, Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories. For more news and information about the University of California: www.universityofcalifornia.edu

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

So he's propraganda machine. I guess LLNS and LANS will never be able to do worng. Wonderful. Controlled reporting.

Anonymous said...

Gerald Parsky, the last LANS/LLNS Governor, was a prominent Republican donor.

A Wiki check on Norman Pattiz shows that he is a prominent Democratic donor.

Perhaps UCOP senses that a political change is in the wind for 2008?

Anonymous said...

Look at the link below to see where Norman Pattiz has been contributing his political cash. He's definitely an active donor, with most of it going to Democrats:

newsmeat.com/
fec/
bystate_detail.php?
zip=90067&last=Pattiz&first=Norman

Anonymous said...

Pattiz used his connections with Sen. Joe Biden to push the idea of Radio Sawa. This is a US government sponsored Arabic language station that plays pop music interspersed with news with an American slant for the Iraqi public. It's a propaganda effort, for sure, but it's also a very slick and effective one.

This guy looks way better than Parksy. Perhaps he can use his media savy to even put some lipstick on the pig that has become LANL's reputation in the popular media.

Anonymous said...

Here's a video of an interview with Norman Pattiz from the Charlie Rose Show (PBS):

www.charlierose.com/guests/norm-pattiz

Anonymous said...

UC is like a vampire without a heart. You can drive a stake into it, but without a heart it doesn't do much good. Pure evil.

Anonymous said...

According to that link from newsmeat that shows his donations, he also has given sizeable donations to the RNC... $10,000 in 2002.
He must like fueling the fire of competition, that no matter it go blue or red, keeps him making money and holding power.

Anonymous said...

Sometimes, 8:06 PM, a person has to engage in distasteful choices. The year 2002 was a very strong year for the GOP. Pattiz was probably just facing the reality that he needed to pay up if he was going to get any chance of having some quality time with the people in power who could control his destiny. Overall, he seems to be a much stronger supporter for Democrats than Republicans.