James Fisher

The News Journal

A bill introduced in the state Senate would open board committee meetings at the University of Delaware and Delaware State University to the public.

Two UD professors offered support for the bill, SB 278, in a Senate Education Committee meeting Wednesday, saying their university's leadership decisions are often made in closed-door meetings of Board of Trustees committees before the full board ratifies them in its open meetings.

The bill amending the state's Freedom of Information Act was introduced Tuesday by Sen. David Sokola, D-Newark, who chairs the committee. No action was taken on the bill at Wednesday's hearing, where only three of the committee's eight senators were present.

Deni Galileo, a professor of biology at UD, said the institution's eight standing committees and three "visiting" committees invite two faculty members to meetings, but require them to leave before discussing significant topics. While the state's FOIA law makes full board of trustees meetings public, it does not specifically apply to the committee meetings.

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"They always go into executive session and go into the real discussions," Galileo said. "This bill you're sponsoring is a necessary bill because I don't think they are meeting the spirit of FOIA."

Another professor, John Morgan, said nearby state universities have more open standards for their leadership committees.

Officials from both universities told the committee they opposed the bill but were willing to discuss transparency issues with senators. "I stand in opposition largely because of our lack of awareness of the bill. I learned about this bill at 11:30 last night as it was filed," said Rick Deadwyler, UD's director of government relations.

Several attempts by Rep. John Kowalko, D-Newark, to eliminate broad FOIA exemptions for UD and DSU have failed to pass in recent years. Last year, a broader bill opening more records of the universities to public access failed to clear a legislative committee.

Contact James Fisher at (302) 983-6772, on Twitter@JamesFisherTNJorjfisher@delawareonline.com.