Today, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that the fund-raising efforts of the Iowa State University Foundation are subject to the Iowa open records law, and remanded the case back to district court for further proceedings that should clarify the requirements of the law. The Iowa State University Foundation provides very important service to the University by raising private funds to support our students, faculty and programmatic priorities. The Foundation has an outstanding record of achievement in managing our donor relations, and the employees and volunteer leaders of the Foundation carry out their responsibilities with a high level of professionalism and integrity. Central to their fund-raising efforts is the need to maintain donor privacy, which I also believe is an ethical obligation to the university's benefactors. Clarification of the open records law on that point will be especially important .