The Texas state Attorney General, Dan Morales, has ruled that letters written in the tenure and promotion process are not confidential because the process is now considered part of the Open Meeting Act. The impact of this decision is not known. Pat Campbell, TTU Attorney, stated in a letter that the Attorney General's opinion comes from a 1993 ruling, which stated that factual evidence must be disclosed but advisory evidence does not. Provost Burns stated that further discussions with Pat Campbell are needed and, if policy changes are called for, he would like to see the changes originate in the Senate. Yes, the ruling originated in the Department of Public Safety.
Most letters contain parts of both.
More openness may be better. No one knew. Provost Burns stated that in a few weeks he would be attending a retreat with other academic officers from Texas. He will find out how they are handling this problem. President Nancy Reed suggested that the Agenda Committee meet with Provost Burns after the retreat and continued to communicate with Pat Campbell.