Inside Iowa State

February 11, 2005

Faculty Senate

Saftig: Foundation OK with openness

by Linda Charles

The ISU Foundation will "strike a balance between openness and donor confidentiality" while seeking to comply with a recent Iowa Supreme Court ruling that says the foundation is covered by the Iowa open records law, Dan Saftig told the Faculty Senate Feb. 8.

Saftig, president of the foundation, noted that in 2002, the foundation developed a public information policy that is "widely recognized as the best practice model of openness."

"We're proud of what we've done to date, but the court says we need to do more, and we will," he said.

In most cases, the foundation will release the name of the donor, the amount of the gift and the designation for the gift, Saftig said. However, confidential information -- such as address, phone number and estate information -- will not be released.

"We all have a moral and ethical consideration that the donor request is met," he said. "Our commitment to the spirit of openness remains strong."

Saftig also discussed the next university fund-raising campaign. While he declined to say how much will be sought, he said, "It will be bigger than the last campaign."

In other business, Olivia Madison, dean of library services, updated the senate on progress in the library over the past five years.

"The library is in excellent health," she said, noting how much the electronic portion has grown.

David Hopper, chair of the University Library Committee, warned of spiraling journal costs and cautioned senators not to sign away their copyrights when their work is published. When copyrights are not retained, professors often have to pay to use their research in their classrooms.

The senate next meets at 3:30 p.m. March 8 in the MU Sun Room.

"We're proud of what we've done to date, but the court says we need to do more, and we will."

Dan Saftig,
ISU Foundation president