Like any public entity, the University of California has a duty to conduct its business in the public eye. That includes the business of managing its endowment and the pensions of its employees and retirees. It's a business that the UC regents are inexcusably seeking to keep under wraps.

The regents are refusing to fully disclose the performance of the university's growing investments in high-risk venture capital funds, citing confidentiality agreements.

The argument rings hollow. The regents are stewards of $34 billion in investments for 173,000 current and former university employees who have a right to know how well their future is being managed. As recipients of state funds, the regents have a further obligation to taxpayers to be open to public scrutiny.

The Mercury News, the Coalition of University Employees and a UC professor have made those arguments in a lawsuit that demands full disclosure of the university's investments.

There is good precedent for such transparency. Following a similar suit by the Mercury News, CalPERS, the huge public employee pension fund, agreed to disclose how its investments in private equity are doing. It also became a national model for openness. CalSTRS, the retirement fund of California's teachers, along with the University of Michigan, the University of Texas and other public entities, have made similar disclosures recently.

Most public institutions have long disclosed the performance of their investments in stocks and bonds, but have closely guarded information about investments in private funds. In the 1990s, the percentage invested in private funds grew dramatically, as institutions chased the spectacular returns of the venture capital industry. That meant an increasing portion of public investments became shielded from public view.

Over the past two years, in a series of closed sessions, UC has replaced its entire in-house investment staff with outside managers and refocused its investment strategy. During the same time, as the stock market declined, the value of its investments has plummeted. Private investments fared particularly badly. As their nest eggs shrink, UC's current and former workers and California's taxpayers can no longer be kept in the dark.

It's time for UC to follow the precedent set by CalPERS and others.