UC OKs contract modification

The University of California Board of Regents approved modification of contracts Thursday under which it manages Lawrence Livermore and Los Alamos national laboratories for DOE.

The modifications are to five-year contracts originally approved and signed in 1997. Scheduled to last through 2002, those contracts included a provision allowing DOE unilaterally to extend UC performance by up to five years more, to 2007. The DOE elected to extend the contracts for three years through Sept. 30, 2005.

"The extension of the contract approved by the UC Regents today provides the stability and continuity necessary for the Laboratory’s success in fulfilling its national security missions," said Lab Director Bruce Tarter. "The University’s intellectual vitality is also critical to the Laboratory’s ability to recruit and retain the best minds in science and to sustain the innovative work environment needed to continue forging new frontiers in science and technology."

The contracts are scheduled to be discussed by Energy Secretary Bill Richardson, National Nuclear Security Agency Administrator John Gordon and UC’s C. Judson King today at approximately 8:30 a.m. Pacific time. Details of the contract were not available at press time. Details will be provided in NewsOnLine.