Baylor regents will meet behind cclosed doors_90803

Posted: 9/11/03

Baylor regents will meet behind cclosed doors

By Mark Wingfield

Managing Editor

WACO–When regents of Baylor University meet Friday to consider the future of President Robert Sloan, and conduct other routine business, they will meet entirely behind closed doors.

None of the regents' meeting will be open to observers, according to Baylor media coordinator Lori Scott-Fogleman.

Media representatives have been told they must gather in a conference room on the first floor of Cashion Academic Center on campus after 9 a.m. The regents will begin meeting at 8 a.m. in another undisclosed location.

A media advisory from Scott-Fogleman explains: "Baylor media relations staff will bring regents to the media room for any announcement related to regent action."

On Tuesday, President Robert Sloan criticized the Faculty Senate for meeting in closed session to take a vote of no confidence in his administration.

"I think they should be more open about their processes," he told reporters. "I think the Faculty Senate should be challenged to evaluate the way they hold their elections. I think they should be challenged to have open meetings. I think it's very important that the sun shine in on all of what they do. So again, openness is very important on the part of the faculty, on the part of the staff, on the part of the entire Baylor family."

A reporter then asked Sloan if he would advocate the same openness for the board of regents, which normally meets in executive session, and for release of key governing documents, such as the bylaws, that the university's general counsel has declared confidential.

He responded: "Some of the documents are by policy confidentially held. Baylor University conducts its meetings, the overwhelming bulk of our meetings are not done in executive session. … I suspect newspaper boards and magazine boards and corporate boards for television also have executive sessions. That's important in any institution's life. … I think we have a very open process."

Asked again if he thought the Faculty Senate should held to a higher standard of openness than the board of regents, Sloan said: "They should abide by standards at least as high. … I think our board has a very positive record of openness and disclosure in the whole universe of private institutions."