Parties reach settlement agreement, end litigation in Hall v. KU case
LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas today announced that a settlement agreement has been reached between the university, KU School of Business lecturer Arthur Hall and KU student Schuyler Kraus that ends all litigation in the Arthur Hall v. The University of Kansas case.
The agreement stipulates that the university and Hall produce to Kraus — who is president of the student group Students for a Sustainable Future — certain designated documents related to the group’s Kansas Open Records Act request. Specifically, those documents include correspondence between Hall and other parties identified in the request that discuss the KU Center for Applied Economics’ use of funds provided by those parties. Additionally, the settlement calls for Hall to produce the funding agreement related to the creation of the Center for Applied Economics.
In exchange, Kraus agrees to withdraw her Kansas Open Records Act request and release the university and Hall of all claims related to the matter.
“We are pleased that the University of Kansas, Dr. Hall and Ms. Kraus were able to reach an agreement that is acceptable to all parties and enables us to avoid further litigation,” said Tim Caboni, vice chancellor for public affairs. “As we’ve said all along, the university strongly supports the First Amendment rights of faculty and the freedom of faculty to pursue the independent and uninhibited exchange of ideas. But at the same time, the university is a state agency, and the Kansas Open Records Act requires us to produce certain records and to act transparently. This is a difficult balancing act, as this case has demonstrated, and we are glad to have the matter resolved.”
“The principle at stake in this case was making sure that KU, where I’ve had the privilege of teaching for many years, remains a place where academic freedom is respected and upheld,” Hall said. “The agreement demonstrates it is possible to provide transparency in funding while respecting academic freedom.”
Documents: