Recent private meetings held by the UNC System Board of Governors at a retreat has raised public concern that North Carolina Open Meetings law may have been violated.
The UNC Board of Governors is legally responsible for all decisions and policies made involving the University system, which includes 17 universities. North Carolina state law requires all official meetings held by the Board of Governors to be open to the public.
While “official” meetings are required to be open to the public, “social” meetings are not.
“A social meeting or other informal assembly or gathering together of the members of a public body does not constitute an official meeting unless called or held to evade the spirit and purposes of this Article,” according to Board guidelines.
Despite “social” meetings not being required to be open to the public, the events and discussions of the meetings still need to be recorded so that anyone not present may understand what took place.
“When a public body meets in closed session, it shall keep a general account of the closed session so that a person not in attendance would have a reasonable understanding of what transpired,” according to Chapter 143, Article 33C of the Board of Governors’ statutes.
Due to the public and authoritative nature of the Board’s position, the public is concerned about the privacy of meetings. Student Body President Chandler Thompson addressed her concerns in an email.
“I do not have much information on the [Board of Governors] meeting in question, but with the current climate and situations the UNC system is facing with budget cuts, etc. I hope that any meeting in which business especially impacts students will be open to the press and the public,” Thompson said.
As student body president, Thompson holds a chair on the Board of Trustees for N.C . State. The board on which she sits reports to the Board of Governors, and the Board of Governors takes direction from the N.C . legislature.
“I have an obligation to ensure that students’ voices are heard and opinions are sought, as well as the open meetings law followed,” Thompson said.
“I don’t know a lot about the subject, but if they’re making policies that affect us, we should have the right to be involved,” Wendy Shea, a senior in English, said.
Former Board member Andrew Payne has requested transcripts of the meetings to ensure the validity of the Board’s claim that the meetings were “social” and not “official.” UNC Board of Governors Vice President for Communications Joni Worthington agreed to comply with Payne’s request in the next few weeks.
Dudley Flood, a member of the Board, claimed legal counsel was present at the retreat to ensure there were no discussions on policies or other University business, according to the Daily Tar Heel.
A statement by Board President Thomas Ross claims that, as half of the Board is new this year, the retreat was simply an orientation for new members who have not yet been sworn in. While they reviewed Board responsibilities and obligations, members did not discuss or make decisions regarding the University system.
“As an early supporter of the creation of the N.C . Coalition for Open Government, [I] remain committed to transparency and openness,” Ross said.
In response to whether or not the open meetings law may have been broken, Thompson remains optimistic.
“I have confidence that our leaders would not put us in a situation such as this,” Thompson said.
