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[Note: This material is copyright by The Daily Iowan, and is reproduced here as a matter of "fair use" for non-commercial, educational purposes only. Any other use may require the prior approval of The Daily Iowan.]

The revised agreement would have prevented members - charged with finding candidates to replace former UI President David Skorton - from telling their family where they were going or being reimbursed for travel expenses, members said.

Members had refused to sign the agreement on Nov. 10. The following week on Nov. 17, regents voted 6-2 to disband the UI Presidential Search Committee and reject the four finalists.

Kathleen Richardson, director of Iowa Freedom of Information Council, said the document "raises alarm bells," although she could not speak specifically to the document's legality.

"It's disturbing that they would attempt to do that, whether it was legal or not," she added.

Until the Nov. 10 off-campus interviews in Des Moines, before the beginning of every search committee meeting, members signed a three-point confidentiality agreement pledging to keep all application material confidential, to not release confidential material to the public, and to have all comments in the search process directed through committee chairwoman and Regent Teresa Wahlert.

The Nov. 10 agreement had two additional points, which some members of the committee cited as attempting to muzzle them.

According to the agreement obtained by The Daily Iowan, the final two bullet points read as follows:

"I agree to refrain from making any statements or any comments to any person(s) about or relating to any subject matter regarding the University of Iowa Presidential search process or candidate interviews, other than with fellow search interview participants or others who are known to me to have signed this Confidentiality Agreement."

"I understand and acknowledge that I have an obligation under Iowa law and Board of Regents' policy to maintain the confidentiality of all information I receive as part of the University of Iowa Presidential search/interview process."

"This is incredible," former committee member and UI professor Jerry Schnoor recounted himself as saying after reading the agreement. "I can't sign this; this is the United States."

E-mails and calls to Wahlert and Regent president Michael Gartner about the confidentiality agreement were not returned Tuesday night. But in a letter to The Des Moines Register, Gartner defended the confidentiality of the process.

"It's true the process was confidential, but five of the seven candidates brought in for interviews told us they would drop out if their names became public, and virtually all of the original pool of 150 or so also demanded confidentiality - a fact the Search Committee was aware of from the beginning," he said. "Right or wrong, that seems to be the way the marketplace works at large institutions these days."

Gartner also added in the letter that the responsibility of finding a new president fell on the shoulders of the regents, not on the university community.

Confidentiality agreements are a relatively new item for UI presidential search committees. Schnoor and UI professor Steve Collins served on the previous two search committees and said confidentiality agreements were not used.

Richardson said while it was common to have candidates sign confidentiality agreements, it was unusual for members of a search committee to sign one.

"This is the first time I have heard of that," she said.

She added that confidentiality agreements were becoming more commonplace during searches at all levels.

Meanwhile, both UI Faculty Senate and UI Student Government will hold no-confidence votes in the regents on Nov. 28. UISG President Peter McElligott said this would effectively end all communication between the organization and regents.

Governor-elect Chet Culver also issued a statement asking for more openness in the search process. The Democrat, elected earlier this month, wants to obtain all information related to the search, along with any other issues regarding open records and meetings, communications director Brad Anderson said.

Culver "understands the frustration and concern felt by many in the community about this process, and is confident that we can move quickly to find a qualified president using a process that is inclusive, open and respectful of the privacy of all the applicants," Anderson said.