The University officially established a new Office of Public Records yesterday, which will handle requests from media and members of the public for documents and information pertaining to University affairs.
Assistant Vice President for Administration Brian Smith will temporarily head the new office until the University finds a permanent director. The search for a public records manager will be led by University archivist Heather Briston, and applications for the position will be reviewed as soon as June 14.
The formation of the public records office is part of University President Richard Lariviere’s campaign to make the University as open and transparent as possible with members of the media and the public. Last week, when he announced the addition of the Office of Public Records, Lariviere also revealed that he issued a directive to all University departments instructing them to reply to record inquiries as soon as possible.
“President Lariviere has decided that at this time, given the volume of formal requests the University receives annually, that the University should take actions to reaffirm its dedication to openness and responsiveness,” Smith said. “He is a new president, and he would like to set strong precedents for these things early on in his career here.”
However, University spokesperson Joe Mosley suggested the President’s decision may have been influenced by consistent problems with the University’s previous public records arrangement.
“There have been complaints, mostly from various media outlets, that the process for getting information from the University is slow and arduous,” Mosley said.
Issues with the University’s record-keeping process came to a head earlier this year during the controversial $2.3 million buyout of former athletic director Mike Bellotti. In attempting to negotiate a severance settlement, it was discovered that Bellotti did not have a written contract with the University. News coverage impugning the University’s transparency spread quickly, and Lariviere made several statements insinuating changes in the way the school documented its affairs.
“It’s the University’s business to make good business,” Lariviere said at a press conference discussing Bellotti’s buyout in April.
Before the creation of the Office of Public Records, formal requests for University information were handled by the Office of the General Counsel, which is primarily responsible for providing legal advice to the University.
University General Counsel Doug Park could not be reached for comment.
The new office will consist of the director and an assistant who will address the approximately 150 formal public records requests the University receives each year.
University officials hope that having a specialized department will help improve the exchange of information between the school and the public.
“Adding these two new staff positions, which are solely focused on facilitating requests for information, will help to realize the president’s objective of greater transparency and responsiveness,” Smith said.
Currently, the Office of Public Records is set to be located in Johnson Hall and can be reached by e-mail at [email protected].
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