Colorado passes law to battle secrecy, scandal in public university foundation

Allegations of sexual assault and drug and alcohol abuse during football recruitment plagued the University of Colorado last year, leading lawmakers and state officials to eye the University of Colorado Foundation, which held key documents that would indicate how some funding for recruitment was spent.

Iowa State University Foundation is public, Iowa’s highest state court rules

IOWA ? After a four-year battle against the Iowa State University Foundation, retired Des Moines businessman Arlen Nichols, 75, came one step closer to obtaining foundation documents that could prove his suspicion that university funds were mishandled.

The Iowa Supreme Court ruled in February that the ISU Foundation?the fundraising arm of the university that denied Nichols an array of records?was performing a government function as a result of its contract with Iowa State University.

Legislators aim to shield foundations from public scrutiny with Georgia law

GEORGIA ? A bill that allows public universities to withhold documents and records from the public to protect donor confidentiality was passed in the Georgia House of Representatives and the Senate in April, bucking a nationwide trend of openness.

Public colleges and universities, Republican legislators in favor of the bill argued, are at a disadvantage because foundations at private universities are not required to release information about their donors.