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“There are all kinds of donors who have put limitations on gifts and it’s important for the university community to be able to know what those limitations and restrictions are going to be.”
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The Virginia Supreme Court has ruled that the fundraising foundation for Virginia’s largest university is exempt from public-records laws. The unanimous ruling issued Thursday is a defeat to a group of George Mason University students who sought records outlining the relationship between the university and a network of conservative donors who have contributed millions of dollars to the school annually. A group called Transparent GMU filed the lawsuit. They argued that the George Mason University Foundation should be subject to public-records laws just like the university. The school argued that the entities are separate and that state law exempts foundations from the Freedom of Information Act.
AP News
The Virginia Supreme Court sided with administrators at George Mason University in a closely-watched lawsuit challenging whether private fundraising foundations established by public universities can keep donor records secret. The justices wrote in an opinion issued Thursday that private foundations, no matter how closely intertwined with the university they serve, are not public bodies for the purposes of Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act. “Had the General Assembly intended the unreserved inclusion of non-profit foundations, that exist for the primary purpose of supporting public institutions of higher education, as public bodies under VFOIA, it could have so provided, but it has not,” they wrote.
Virginia Mercury
Megan Rhyne, executive director of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government agrees. She said the foundation impacts the ultimate mission of the university, because the money it raises drives major budget decisions like hiring and real estate acquisition. “There are all kinds of donors who have put limitations on gifts and it’s important, I think, for the university community, if nobody else, to be able to know what those limitations and restrictions are going to be.”
VPM
In a prepared statement, Terri Cofer Beirne, chair of the George Mason University Foundation Board of Trustees, said the foundation was pleased with the ruling. “The decision validates the lower court ruling that our Foundation, and others like it at Colleges and Universities across the Commonwealth, is a private entity and that our donors have certain rights, including privacy, associated with their gifts,” she said.
Richmond Times-Dispatch
(NOTE: VCOG filed a brief in support of the student group. You can read the court’s opinion on VCOG’s website.)
The Spotsylvania County Board of Supervisors approved a resolution to ban county government employees from serving on the board. Following a brief discussion at Tuesday’s meeting, supervisors voted to approve the measure, 5–1. Chris Yakabouski voted against the change while Kevin Marshall, a county employee, abstained. The resolutions prohibit employees from serving on the board and institute a one-year waiting period before any supervisor can become a county employee after leaving the board. The resolutions make an exception for Marshall, who has long worked for the county, so he can keep both his job and his position on the board.
Free Lance-Star
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“The low response rate from universities ‘is a sad commentary on the culture of secrecy and image obsession that permeates higher education,’”
“Transparency Virginia sent a letter this week to leaders in both chambers, from both parties, asking that they continue to take steps toward openness.”