Just a few comments from my five years experience as Freedom of Information Officer for Sedgwick County Government (with the caution that I am not an attorney and know nothing about Ohio statutes) ...
"It depends" may be the best your general counsel's office can do off the top of its collective head. In KS, perhaps in OH and I know in other states, the status of university endowment associations, athletic associations, alumni support groups and other entities associated with, often quite closely, but distinct from the university as state entity may fall into a grey area for open records. If the status of records held by these non-profit corporations is not specifically addressed in OH statutes, then litigation and Attorney General opinions would define. Interpreting how case laws and AG opinions apply to your specific instance is a matter for your legal counsel to opine about. Your counsel may be able to seek AG advice.
I can understand your development office's hesitancy in releasing donor information, and I think your legal counsel's initial comment reflects underlying legal issues. KS law allows names of donors to not be disclosed, if the donation is otherwise legal and anonymity is a condition of the donation -- OH may have a similar provision in its revised code. So, even if your open records law applies to the entity which received the donations at issue, an exclusion from mandatory disclosure may exist.
Here in KS a couple years back news media wanted to know what the KU athletic director was paid. As I recall, KU would only reveal compensation from the university itself, not additional compensation paid by the non-profit corporation. News media sued. Total compensation came out, eventually. And news media successfully revised the Kansas Open Records Act to clarify status of what these entities must disclose. News media also argues that open records laws should apply to entities that exist primarily on contracts from government agencies, such as nonprofits providing various social services.
// Douglas K. King, Records Manager / Freedom of Information Officer
|| Sedgwick County DIO/IT-Records Management Services
|| Sedgwick County Courthouse / 525 N. Main / Wichita KS 67203
|| 316.660.9846 FAX 316.660.3274 mailto:[log in to unmask]
\\ www.sedgwickcounty.org "Sedgwick County ... working for you"
-----Original Message-----
From: Records Management Program [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On
Behalf Of [log in to unmask]
Sent: Tuesday, October 03, 2006 10:41 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [RM] university donor records
Good morning.
An individual contacted me recently for information on donors to a
campus building project. Specifically, they want a list of donors and
amounts. I referred the individual to the development office, who are
hesitant to release the information. I understand why they would want
to protect donor information, but it appears from the Ohio Revised
Code that this information is public. The general counsels office
response was, "it depends". I'm wondering what others experiences have
been with this issue, as "it depends" really isn't helping my
understanding of the issue. Any feedback would be most appreciated.
Thanks.
Chris Wydman
University Records Manager
Wright State University
Dasytron, OH 45435
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