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University of North Carolina Official: I'Ll Follow Meetings Law

Posted on: Wednesday, 4 January 2006, 18:00 CST

By Jim Morrill, The Charlotte Observer, N.C.

Jan. 4--The chairman of the University of North Carolina's governing board pledged Tuesday to comply with the state's open meetings law after the N.C. Press Association decried its "arrogant refusal" to acknowledge violations in the selection of a new president.

And in what the media group called a sign of his commitment to openness, President Erskine Bowles said he'd withdraw university support for a bill that would allow UNC to conceal what is now public information.

Board of Governors chairman Brad Wilson of Durham said Tuesday he's sorry the problem arose.

"We intend to act in full compliance with the North Carolina open meetings law as interpreted by the attorney general," he said. "And we fully support President Bowles in the actions and comments he has made on this subject."

The dispute stems from the way Bowles was chosen.

The board met to discuss its search for a new president Sept. 7. It went into closed session. Once there, members agreed to recess the meeting until later that month. But they didn't publicly announce that.

An October opinion from N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper suggests the board violated the meetings law.

"Motions to adjourn or recess are not permissible activities that can take place in a closed session," Cooper wrote. "Establishing future meeting dates or times and places for reconvening meetings are not authorized ... in a closed session."

On Tuesday, press association president Rip Woodin wrote Wilson on behalf of the NCPA, the Observer, Raleigh's News & Observer, The Associated Press and the N.C. Broadcasters Association. While chastising the governing board, Woodin, publisher of the Rocky Mount Telegram, praised Bowles.

"Bowles' candor and accessibility promise a new era of openness and accountability at the University," he wrote.

Bowles told the Observer he's "sorry this whole matter has arisen."

"I'm going to try to be open," he said. "There will be areas of disagreement in the future, but my basic philosophy is to be as open and cooperative as I can possibly be."

And in what Woodin called "a demonstration of Bowles' commitment" to transparency, the new president said he'd withdraw university support from a bill that would close records now public, including an employee's cell phone number.

The bill has passed the Senate and awaits action in the House. How Bowles' decision affects the bill is unclear. Its sponsor, Sen. Dan Clodfelter, a Charlotte Democrat, could not be reached.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Charlotte Observer, N.C.

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Source: The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.)

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