Record-breaking fund raising, ever-increasing tuition and the controversial sale of the Powers farm have prompted two groups to again attempt to open the record books at the ISU Foundation and the foundations of the other regent universities.

In February, a House bill to make most records of university foundations public record died in committee. Now, the Iowa Newspaper Association and the Iowa Freedom of Information Council are taking up the movement again. The effort is one of the council’s goals for 2002.

“Last year, the Legislature took the stance of `if it isn’t broke don’t fix it,’ ” said Bill Monroe, executive director of the INA. “Since the time period we tried to pass the bill last year, a lot has come to the public – including the Powers farm scandal – and it seems more than ever that something needs to be done.”

The names of individuals who wish to remain anonymous would be exempt, he said.

“We understand private donors who don’t want their information available, but there have been a number of donors upset with how their donations were handled,” Monroe said.

Several other universities have faced scandals with their fund-raising organizations, he said, adding that in some states, university officials were forced to leave the university.

“No one is saying this is the case in Iowa but we want to make sure that it doesn’t happen,” Monroe said.

With recent record-breaking fund raising, Monroe said the public has the right to see where the money is going.

“You have to wonder how it’s being spent,” he said.

Barb Boose, communications manager for the ISU Foundation, said the Foundation’s 2001-2002 operating budget is $10.1 million, of which $9.4 million is from gift fees, an administrative fee on endowment and interest earned on non-endowed funds. The other $700,000 is university supported, she said.

Even though the ISU Foundation moved off campus this year, Monroe said he still feels the organization is subject to open-records laws because it is connected to Iowa State.

“They are an integral part of the university and are tied to the university,” he said. “Maybe there’s a legal distinction. They keep saying they are a private entity, but until they receive no benefits from the university . [They are] subject to the open records laws.”

At an INA meeting last week, members decided to send a letter to the regents asking for support.

It is likely they will ask the regents “to do all that they can in opening the Foundation’s records,” he said. They will also ask the regents to aid the INA and the Freedom of Information Council when they bring the issue to the Legislature.

Bill Kunerth, professor emeritus of journalism and mass communication, said a few members of the Friends of Iowa State, a group of current and retired professors, talked to President Gregory Geoffroy earlier this year to see what he could do about opening the Foundation’s records. They have yet to receive a response.

“There are many different groups who are trying to get the records open, but are coming at it in a lot of different directions,” Kunerth said.