Return to Nicholas Johnson's Iowa Rain Forest ("Earthpark") Web Site

Return to Nicholas Johnson's Blog, FromDC2Iowa
 
 

Letter from John Colloton to Gary Fethke, July 11, 2006

[Note: This material is copyright by the Press-Citizen, 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 Iowa City Press-Citizen.]

As reported today, the Press-Citizen has asked the Johnson County attorney’s office to investigate the University of Iowa’s refusal to provide it with any electronic and paper correspondence from John Colloton to specific individuals involved in the management of the University of Iowa and University Hospitals. The Iowa attorney general’s office earlier advised the university not to turn over such records because Colloton — who served as the director of University Hospitals from 1971 to 1993 and was named director emeritus in 2001 — was no longer employed by the university and has no official duties. UI denied a similar request directed to Colloton’s UI-provided secretary, who is public employee and has the official duty of working for Colloton.

The Press-Citizen made the request after anonymously receiving documents that appeared to be from Colloton and covered topics ranging from the UI president search, the Wellmark contract controversy of 2004 and 2005, and UI and hospital organizational structure. The Iowa state Board of Regents’ recent interest in a hospital security breach concerning Colloton’s files suggests that at least some of the documents are authentic.

The letter printed above was provided from the files of UI Interim President Gary Fethke and is identical to one of the documents that the Press-Citizen received electronically — albeit without the university letterhead and the signature. Because the attorney general ruled Colloton’s correspondence would be public if retained by the recipients, the university turned the letter over. It is the only one of the documents that we have been able to confirm independently.

We want to know what you think. If Fethke had not retained this letter, the attorney general has suggested that it wouldn’t be considered public. We think that the letter — written on UI letterhead, signed over an official sounding title and typed by a UI employee — is part of the public record whether in Fethke’s file or in Colloton’s.

Definitions:
• Section 3: As used in this chapter, "public records" includes all records, documents, tape or other information, stored or preserved in any medium, of or belonging to this state or any county, city, town-ship, school corporation, political subdivision, nonprofit corporation other than a county or district fair or agricultural society, whose facilities and indebtedness are supported in whole or in part with property tax revenue and which is licensed to conduct parimutuel wagering pursuant to chapter 99D, or tax-supported district in this state, or any branch, department, board, bureau, commission, council or committee of any of the foregoing "public records" also includes all records relating to the investment policies, instructions, trading orders or contracts, whether in the custody of the public body responsible for the public funds or a fiduciary of other third party.