Berkeley Invites Four Department Heads To Join BP Contract Negotiations

The University of California at Berkeley has invited the professors who lead four academic senate committees to join in the contract negotiations to finalize a $500 million research pact between the energy giant BP, the university, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, The San Francisco Chronicle reported. The move comes as two petitions circulate at Berkeley. One is being signed by professors who fear the deal gives too much power to BP over faculty slots and resources, and calls for more faculty oversight of the deal. The other seeks to call the deal off, saying that BP is engaged in "greenwashing" - trying to improve its reputation through the research. The deal was announced with much fanfare in February, and has drawn more questions since.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/03/31/BAGE5OV6G61.DTL&hw=Berkeley&sn=011&sc=448