FOIA PROJECT: PRESIDENTIAL SEARCH, UNIVERSITY OF IOWA (2015)

UPDATES

  • DEC. 20: TIER EFFICIENCY REVIEW REACHES 5.5 MILLION. Included below are receipts associated with each company involved in the review (Ad Astra, Chazey, Deloitte, Huron, Pappas).
  • DEC. 6: Board of Regents discloses FACULTY responses to Harreld Hire.
  • NOV. 29: PARTIAL DISCLOSURE OF PARKER EXECUTIVE SEARCH DOCUMENTS. The Board of Regents has released a portion of documents sought through a formal complaint made to the Iowa Public Information Board. (The conditions of the release appear in a document within the folder below). Included in the cache is the Faculty Council's feedback on campus interviews. The FC found "overwhelmingly' that Harreld was not qualified to "move the U of Iowa forward." All other candidates received very positive reviews. At present, the Board of Regents is refusing to disclose candidate application materials and signed statements by the candidates as to the accuracy of their applications.
  • Nov. 15th: After filing a complaint with the Iowa Public Information Board (IPIB), the Board of Regents will disclose documents held by Parker Executive Search. At present, it is unclear how much of the document will be redacted.
  • *IMPORTANT*: AS OF NOV. 4, top ranking UI officials have refused to hand over key email correspondence. The following Open Records request was submitted on September 28th:

    Request Number: 1012
    Public Request Number: 1921
    Submission Date: Monday, September 28, 2015
    Question: I request the following email correspondence (date range: 9/1/14 – 9/28/15: Jerre Stead: to/from Robillard, to/from Fethke, to/from Gardial Jean Robillard: to/from Stead, to/from Fethke, to/from Gardial Sarah Fisher Gardial: to/from Stead, to/from, Robillard, to/from Fethke Gary Fethke: to/from Stead, to/from Robillard, to/from Gardial

  • UI Spokeswoman Jeneane Beck confirmed with reporter Ryan Foley that Harreld signed Statement of Accuracy, further confirming culpability for false statements on his resume.
  • Board of Regents refuses to hand over key documents held by third-party firm, Parker Executive Search. This includes a signed agreement regarding the "accuracy of vita/resume" and survey data regarding the four campus interviews.
  • Useful resources: DitchWalk Blog, "Anatomy of the Harreld Hire"; Nicholas Johnson, FromDC2Iowa

DOCUMENTS
Top: most recent

TIER EFFICIENCY REVIEW BUDGET AND RECEIPTS
Overall Expenses | Ad Astra | Chazey | Deloitte | Huron | Pappas
Desc: Each of the links above includes the receipts for each firm involved in the TIER expediency review. At last update, the cost of the review has topped $5.5. Million. Note the Board of Regents does not keep an itemized budget for each of the firms -- only total costs are listed (hence I queried any/all receipts in the possession of the Board.

 

PARKER EXEC SEARCH (PARTIAL DISCLOSURE): FACULTY RESPONSES
DESC: Faculty responses, previously undisclosed by Board of Regents: HARRELD | BERNSTEIN | KRISLOV | STEINMETZ
THE Board of Regents has withheld these documents since early October.

PARKER EXECUTIVE SEARCH (PARTIAL DISCLOSURE)
Desc: The Board of Regents has agreed to disclose a portion of document held by Parker Executive Search as part of an informal agreement reached between the Iowa Public Information Board and the Regents. It contains: the Faculty Council feedback (including an extremely negative review of Harreld's application), PES search materials (including Chicago schedule and questions for prospective candidates), and on campus itineraries for four campus interviews.

Bruce Harreld Addresses UI Graduate Students in a Closed Forum
Desc.: ***Questions for Harreld were pre-screened by university officials

Email Correspondence btn Members of the Search Committee, Board of Regents, and Lobbyist Keith Saunders
Desc:
Members of the Presidential Search Committee and Board of Regents claim no responsive email. This cache contains Saunders's email regarding the search process
Source: UI Open Records

Correspondence between Rastetter/Stead/Robillard/Fethke/Gardial | ***Correspondence with Transparency Officer re Request
Desc.: "I request the following email correspondence (date range: 9/1/14 – 9/28/15: Jerre Stead: to/from Robillard, to/from Fethke, to/from Gardial Jean Robillard: to/from Stead, to/from Fethke, to/from Gardial Sarah Fisher Gardial: to/from Stead, to/from, Robillard, to/from Fethke Gary Fethke: to/from Stead, to/from Robillard, to/from Gardial."

UI Transparency Officer's response: "Since this request involved an Interim President and a former Interim President, as Chief of Staff, Peter Matthes was the point person for farming out the request to Jean Robillard and Gary Fethke. Gary Fethke forwarded all of his emails to Peter Matthes instead of forwarding them directly to public-records@uiowa.edu. Those emails were then forwarded to me. Robillard had no responsive documents to this request.  Steadis not a university employee and the University of Iowa doesn’t own his records. There were no responsive emails to this request during Stead’s time as a search committee member."

Board of Regents Transparency Officer: no email pursuant to Rastetter

Presidential Search Committee on Mitch "the blade" Daniels
Desc: Search Committee discusses Mitch Daniels' implementation of austerity measures at Purdue U.
Source: UI Open Records

Bruce Harreld -- Email Confirming He Submitted no Letter of Application for the UI Presidency Job
Source: B. Harreld

Board of Regents - Reimbursements for Travel Expense (as of 10/29/15)
Source: Board of Regents

Talking Points for Tuition Increase
Desc: Email from Steven Leath to Board members Rastatter, Mulhalland, Donley
Source: Board of Regents

Email communications between B Harreld and Governor Branstad
Desc: Non-responsive

Names of 6 Candidates actively recruited by Rastetter
Desc: Denied by Board of Regents

Correspondence Re Presidential Search
Robillard | Bohannon | Gardial | Matthes
Desc: Request: "All email communications related to the pre-screening, vetting, and hiring of Bruce Harreld, sent to or from the members of the “Presidential Search and Screen Committee" or members of the University Administration involved in the Presidential Search." Transparency officer's response: "emails responsive to this request that we’ve gathered from the search committee members were sent/received after the four finalists were announced."
Source: UI Open Records

*Parker Executive Search -- STATEMENT OF ACCURACY Re Resume
Desc: UI Spokeswoman Jeneane Beck confirmed with reporter Ryan Foley that Harreld signed this document. 
Source: Ryan Foley (Associated Press)

Steven Leath and Bruce Harreld Correspondence
Desc: Correspondence re Steven Leath/Bruce Harreld, July 30 dinner and preceding meetings.
Source: Iowa State U

Search Committee Reimbursements
Source: UI Open Records

TIAA-CREF Institute, "Barriers to Innovation and Change in Higher Education"
Desc: TIAA-CREF Financial Services, which provides the University of Iowa's retirement plan, funds a neo-conservative institute advocating the policies of ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council). This includes eliminating tenure, shared-governance, and tuition increases. 

YES MEN Event, Hosted by Kembrew McLeod, UI Public Library
Desc: On August 26th, 2015, officials from the UI Human Resources Department and the UI Campus Police sent a Threat Assessment Team to an event hosted by Professor Kembrew McLeod (Communication Studies, U Iowa) and YES Men artists Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno. The event took place in Meeting Room D of the Public Library.
Source: UI Open Records

Board Members, Bob Donley, B. Harreld
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Desc: open records request for all emails to the board, Bob Donley or any of the seven members regarding Bruce Harreld’s candidacy for and appointment as UI president from Aug. 24 to today
Source: B of R, courtesy of Jeff Charis Carlson

Constituent Email
Source: B of R, court. Jeff Charis Carlson

Itinerary related documents -- associated with B. Harreld's July 8 Campus Visit
*MISSING EMAIL: C. Bohannan to B. Harreld I
*Explanation of Deleted Email
Desc:
Source: UI Open Records

Request for information related to interviews conducted at Chicago Airport
Source: UI Open Records

Meeting Minutes (7/30); Meeting Minutes (8/2); Parker Exec Email to Search Committee
Desc: Minutes 7/30 contain instructionsby Parker Exec CEO to evade Public Meetings and Open Records law by using Parker secure website.
Source: UI Open Records

"Insights on the Culture at IBM Since 1993," By Peter Greulich
Desc: Assessment of IBM's workplace culture since 1993. 
Source: Peter Greulich

Email Communications between Parker Executive Search and UI Administration
Desc: *Note this does not contain the cache of documents PES/UI/Board of Reg refuses to handover (See Denied Requests)
Source: UI Open Records

Email from the Board of Regents Containing the Names of Unsuccessful Finalists
Desc: Email correspondence between Regents and Parker Exec staff. Note the last email is dated August 3rd 2015.
Source: Board of Regents

Email Between B of R and Parker Executive Search
Desc: Preliminary email between
Source: Board of Regents

Presidential Job Posting
Desc: Description of advertised position
Source: UI Open Records

Lawsuits in which Bruce Harreld is named as Defendant

Presidential Search -- Total Costs as of Sept. 10, 2015
Desc: This number so far excludes $200,000 for services of Parker Executive Search, the firm's travel costs, and candidate receipts
Source: UI Open Records

Presidential Search Cmte -- Meeting Minutes
Desc: Note that confidentiality resolution effectively suppresses most/any information about candidate interviews, evaluation criteria, etc.
Source: UI Open Records

Parker Executive Search -- Contract
Desc: Copy of contract for Parker Executive Search
Source: UI Open Records

Email Communications, Board of Regents
Description: Email Communications to/from the Board of Regents, Search Committee (re hiring of Bruce Harreld)
Source: Board of Regents

Confidentiality Resolution, Search Committee
Desc: resolution re confidentiality of applicant interviews
Source: UI Open Records

 

DENIED REQUESTS

Request for Information regarding Successful Candidate's job application (including "accuracy of vita and bio" signed agreement)
UI transcript / B of R transcript / Parker Executive (Pres. Laurie Wilder)
Desc: Both UI and claim not to possess this information. Parker Executive Search firm refuses disclosure.

 

RESOURCES

University of Iowa Open Record
Contact: Ann Frances V. Goff, UI Transparency Officer
Site: http://publicrecordsrequests.iowa.uiowa.edu/  

Board of Regents, Transparency Page
Contact: Josh Lehman, Senior Communications Director
Site: http://www.regents.iowa.gov/transparency/transparency.htm  

Office of the Governor of Iowa, Terry Branstad
Contact: Larry Johnson
Site: https://governor.iowa.gov/open-records

Members of the Presidential Search and Screen Committee
http://now.uiowa.edu/2015/02/board-regents-announces-search-committee-ui-president