Journalism professor urges taxpayers to watch firm's finances

A new, multimillion-dollar organization that is partially funded by taxpayer money plans to hold its meetings behind closed doors.

Directors of the Translational Genomics Consortium decided to base its organization in Arizona after the state wooed it here with more than $90 million in funding from state, city, country and tribal governments, the state's three universities, foundations and individuals.

TGC plans to use state university campuses ÷ including UA ÷ to conduct research into the human genome, discovering genes responsible for diseases like diabetes and cancer so researchers can develop new treatments.

The decision to keep TGC's meetings secret from the public has some wondering if the organization has violated Arizona's open meeting law.

TGC representatives, however, have argued that the law does not apply to it, because the organization is a private, non-profit corporation.

But Jim Mitchell, an assistant professor of journalism who teaches media law at UA, said he would consider TGC a public entity because it is funded in part by taxpayer money, meaning that the public would usually be able to account for how the public entity is using the money.

"I think it's an odd strategy to win public support," Mitchell said. "This is the age of Enron and Arthur Anderson. If they think the public will trust them, they're living in a dream world."

TGC doesn't have to answer to the public because not all of its funding comes from taxpayer money, said Raymond Woosley, vice president of health sciences at UA.

TGC has an annual budget of about $250 million with only $90 million coming from state funds, he said. The rest of the money was raised from private donations.

TGC needs to keep its meetings secret so it can effectively compete with similar organizations around the world, Woosley said.

The new institute would need to discuss strategy, possible grants and research projects and even who to recruit from the scientific community in its meetings, he said.

"You want that done behind closed doors where your competition can't scoop you," Woosley said.

While it plans to conduct closed meetings, the organization plans to release information about grants awarded, papers published and any scientific breakthroughs to the public, he said.

Mitchell said that though the closed meeting may be legal, he thinks the public is more interested in the accounting part of TGC, rather than the scientific strategy game it plans to play at their secret meetings.

The public wants to be sure that taxpayer money isn't being used on "Lexus leases and love nest rentals," Mitchell said. "If (TGC) cheerfully release the nonscientific information," the public would be more apt to trust the organization.

TGC can avoid court battles over the legality of keeping their meetings private if they are as open as possible with Arizonans, Mitchell said.

If the decision is challenged in the courts, he said TGC would have to consider two questions: What is legally within their rights, and what is the more ethical action to take.

"They are probably within their legal rights, but it is the age of corporate scandals," Mitchell said.