Speaking regulations for trustees differ by university

Since protesting students and faculty filled an October Board of Trustees meeting regarding the future Wildcat Coal Lodge, UK students’ freedom of speech has been the talk of campus.

Members of the UK community began to question the policy surrounding the ability of the general public to address the Board of Trustees during the meeting. The policy, Administration Regulation 1:2, requires a request to be submitted to UK President Lee Todd, who then determines if the subject matter is relevant and refers the matter to a committee appointed by the chairperson of the board.

After the committee fixes a time for the petitioner to appear before them, the committee reports its conclusions to the full board. Then the board determines if it will hear the petitioner.

When the board met Oct. 27 to vote on the $7 million gift from Joseph W. Craft III and his group of donors, the Difference Makers, Todd said students and other protestors were not allowed to speak formally because they did not follow the formal process to be placed on the meeting agenda.

The board’s agenda is posted at 9 a.m. the day before the main board meeting.

Universities across the country have a board of trustees and have similar, and contrasting, regulations.

The University of Florida’s Board of Trustees makes the agenda public at least one week before the meeting, said Florida spokeswoman Janine Sikes. The university will hold a board meeting Dec. 10 and 11, and the meetings’ agenda was posted on the Florida Web site last Wednesday, Sikes said.

Students or the general public must submit a request in writing that relates to the agenda items three days before the meeting, Sikes said.  However, Sikes said Florida laws make this process easier.

“The state of Florida is very much a public-records state, and we have very strong sunshine laws that require government transparency,” Sikes said. “I don’t know if ours mirrors other (universities) in the state, but they all pretty much do.”

Unlike Florida, Penn State University’s board agenda is posted the morning of the meeting.

Jill Shockey, a Penn State spokeswoman, said if students want a specific topic discussed at the board meeting, they must go through one of the three non-voting students on the board. Those students, along with three non-voting faculty, can participate in discussion, but cannot vote on any issues, Shockey said.

In the university’s Standing Orders, visitors to the board meetings are not allowed to speak, present a petition or display any form of signs. The president of the board or the university president can invite one student and one faculty member to participate in the meeting’s discussion.

Purdue University’s Board of Trustees request policy is somewhere in the middle.

Brian Zink, associate director to Purdue’s news service, said board meetings are generally held on Fridays, and the agenda is made available on the trustee Web site the Monday before. However, Zink said speaking in front of the board is not a common practice.

“The public is generally not invited to speak,” Zink said. “ … The board can make exceptions, but generally not.”

Zink said registering for public requests is only offered for meetings regarding tuition and fees. This policy was implemented in 2005.

No records were available for a list of anyone making requests to the board at UK in the past 10 years.

“ … We know of no such requests,” said Frank Butler, official records custodian in an open records response submitted by the Kernel.

UK’s policy has been in place since 1970, said spokesman Jimmy Stanton in a Nov. 17 article.

“It’s been in place for 39 years, so obviously it’s working,” Stanton said.