The Iowa City Press-Citizen sued the Iowa Board of Regents late last month, claiming the board violated Iowa’s open meeting laws during unannounced closed meetings regarding the University of Iowa’s presidential search.

The suit, filed in Polk county on Dec. 21, alleged the Regents met in private between Nov. 10 to 17 on matters that should have been open to the public. The lawsuit is another twist in the controversy-laden U of I presidential search and has left open meetings advocates crying foul.

Kathleen Richardson, assistant professor of journalism at Drake University and executive secretary of the Iowa Freedom of Information Council, said the board’s actions fall into a “gray area” of legality.

“This is a huge source of frustration [for the public],” she said. “They feel like they’re being blocked out of the process.”

Regent Robert Downer said he will no longer take part in any unannounced meetings until the issue is resolved. Downer said the board was advised at the time that the meetings were legal.

The initial seven-month, $217,000 search for former U of I president, David Skorton’s replacement, was ended at one of the closed November meetings, when the Board voted 6-2 to reject four finalists and disband the presidential search committee – a move that infuriated many in the university community.

Downer, who is also a lawyer in Iowa City, said after conferring with colleagues familiar with Iowa’s open meetings laws he now has concerns about the legality of the board’s private meetings.

“I do think that the meetings were on a subject that permits a closed meeting to be held, but the argument that I’m concerned with is each one of these [closed meetings] is a separate meeting that [required the board] to convene a public meeting before you can enter an executive meeting.”

The Des Moines Register also reported last week it obtained e-mails between board members.

The documents appeared to show the Regents coming to a consensus on issues regarding the continuing U of I presidential search outside of public view.

Richardson agreed with Board of Regents President Michael Gartner, who said using e-mails to discuss official business is more open than doing the same by telephone, since e-mails by government officials are public records and available to all.

Richardson said when government officials have extensive discussions about official business outside the public eye, it frustrates the public interest of understanding the process and obtaining a voice in the process.

“I think the way [the U of I presidential search] has been conducted, the fact that so much of it has been conducted in secret has been a source of great frustration,” Richardson said.

Regardless of whether the board’s actions were legal or not, the amount of secrecy involved hasn’t benefited the public it serves, Richardson said.

“It might be more convenient for them to discuss business – especially when it’s controversial – outside public view,” she said. “But it really does a disservice to the public.”