North Carolina tops the nation in secret searches for public-college leaders, The Fayetteville Observer reports.
Governing boards around the country argue that privacy is needed to attract a top-notch slate of presidential candidates. But the newspaper found that, among the states, only North Carolina allows all of its public institutions to keep secret the names of applicants and finalists for president and chancellor.
Two North Carolina lawmakers, expressing surprise at the newspaper’s report, said they would consider a proposal to change the state’s open-meeting requirements. The article includes a list of the budgeted costs of nine recent searches in North Carolina, each of which topped $120,000. —Paul Fain
