Presidential search process under review

With controversy brewing about potential violations by the UNC system of the N.C. Open Meetings Law, news organizations are considering their options, including a possible lawsuit.

The issue stems from a Sept. 7 closed meeting of the system's presidential search committee. During the closed session, the members agreed to recess the meeting and reconvene Sept. 26 in Charlotte.

But N.C. Open Meetings Law requires any meeting of a public body, including committees, to be announced to the public, which was not done in this case, said Ruth Walden, a professor of media law at UNC's School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

According to the minutes of the Sept. 7 closed session, the next meeting was to be a continuation of that session.

Leslie Winner, vice president and general counsel for the system, could not be reached for comment Monday.

"The recess and the continuation of the meeting was never announced in an open session. That to me is a very clear violation of the open meetings law," Walden said.

During two meetings on Sept. 25 and Sept. 26 - listed as one meeting in system meeting minutes - the members interviewed five candidates for the position of president of the UNC system, ultimately deciding to recommend Erskine Bowles as the sole finalist for the position.

The Board of Governors approved Bowles for the position Oct. 3.

Beth Grace, executive director of the N.C. Press Association, said the organization's board of directors is considering options from simply complaining to filing a lawsuit.

If the NCPA does go forward with a lawsuit, member newspapers could join the suit.

Melanie Sill, executive editor of The (Raleigh) News & Observer, said the newspaper also is weighing its options. The publisher, Orage Quarles III, is out of the country.

"When he returns, he and I are going to talk over whether The News & Observer will join the lawsuit," she said. "We would strongly consider it."

Grace said the NCPA, which represents newspapers across the state, considers the actions of the system to be a clear violation of the law.

"The press association is disappointed with the way these meetings were handled and believes very strongly in the spirit and the fact of the state's open meetings law."

The N.C. attorney general's office sent out a legal opinion to all state agencies Oct. 5 outlining its interpretation of the law. The opinion states that "motions to adjourn or recess are not permissible activities that can take place in closed session."

Sill said, as far as she knows, system officials have not acknowledged any wrongdoing or said how they will act in the future.

"Our current concern in terms of access is that our government officials operate in public view," she said. "So, in terms of outcome, we would want the university to follow the law, and not just the letter of the law, but the spirit of the law, which says that the operations of the public university system should be open to the public."

 

Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.