Repository: UIHistories Project: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1942 [PAGE 277]

EXTRACTED TEXT FROM PAGE:

274

BOARD OF TRUSTEES ADMISSION OF T H E PUBLIC TO MEETINGS

[May 15

Mr. Jensen presented the following report of the Committee on General Policy.

Board of Trustees, University of Illinois

GENTLEMEN :

Your General Policy Committee was asked to report on the advisability of opening the meetings of the Board of Trustees to press and public. W e considered the proposition from two standpoints: (1) the welfare of the University, and (2) our legal obligations. The Welfare of the University W e are unanimously of the opinion that the policy of closed meetings pursued by this Board for more than seventy years has contributed to the healthful development of the University. W e believe this policy has operated to protect the University, its faculty, and its students from hurtful publicity. We believe that closed meetings have attracted to unpaid service as University Trustees a high type of citizens, who have earned for the University a reputation for sound, conservative, thrifty management. Closed meetings have promoted a uniformly large attendance at Board meetings with full, free, non-partisan discussion by all members of the Board. T h e r e have been no charges against the Board from any responsible source that the University has suffered in any way from the closed meetings held during the past seventy years. The practice of the governing boards of neighboring state universities is as follows: Closed Meetings Open Meetings University of Michigan Iowa State Board of Education Michigan State College University of Minnesota Ohio State University University of Wisconsin Indiana University P u r d u e University University of Missouri In the case of the University of Wisconsin, open meetings are specifically required by state law, but executive sessions are specifically permitted. In the case of ali three boards which hold open meetings, much of the deliberation and discussion is in executive sessions. Legal Obligations Our committee asked President Willard to inform us as to our legal rights or obligations. President Willard referred the matter to Judge Johnson, University Counsel, to be taken up with the Attorney General. T h e opinion of Attorney General Barrett is as follows: " 1 . Does the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois have a right to hold closed meetings for the purpose of transacting business of the University of Illinois? "2. Does the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees have a right to hold closed meetings for the purpose of transacting business of the University of Illinois? " T h e Statutes of Illinois, entitled 'An Act to provide for the organization and maintenance of the University of Illinois' (Revised Statutes, chapter 144, paragraphs 22 to 70, inclusive), fail to make provision upon the manner of conducting board meetings or Executive Committee meetings with reference as to whether or not the same must be public or may be otherwise. "The Trustees of the University have been given power not only of a special character provided by the above statutes but by paragraph 68 have been given general school powers. P a r a g r a p h 22 above provides that the trustees 'shall be a body corporate and politic to be styled "the board of trustees of the Illinois Industrial University".' "Appropriations of State funds are made regularly to the University and many powers related to the State government are conferred to it by statute.