A Kentucky circuit court ordered the University of Louisville Foundation to disclose the names of 45,000 people who have made a donation to the public institution.

The (Louisville) Courier-Journal sued the university for copies of expenditure receipts, minutes of meetings, names of donors and the amounts of their gifts. In July 2002, a judge ruled that the foundation was a public institution, paving the way for the latest ruling.

However, the judge did allow the university to withhold the names of 62 donors who were promised confidentiality at the time of their donation. Mershon said their right to privacy outweighed the public’s interest.

The ULF had assets of more than $479 million in 2002.

In Georgia, the attorney general ruled the University of Georgia’s main fund-raising organization must comply with state open records and meeting laws. Because the foundation shared management staff, equipment and other resources with the university, it must comply with Georgia’s Sunshine Laws, Attorney General E. Baker said.

According to a report by Atlanta law firm King & Spalding, the foundation’s board of trustees manages an endowment of more than $400 million and pays approximately 58 percent of the university president’s annual salary of $575,000. However, the university’s board of regents hired him and oversees his performance.

“Ultimately, we are a better state and our public institutions are best served, when the public has access to information,” Baker said.