LITTLE ROCK — A legislative panel Thursday endorsed a Jonesboro lawmaker’s request for an audit of the University of Arkansas chancellor’s office to determine if state funds were used to organize a panel discussion featuring undocumented immigrants.
The Legislative Joint Auditing Committee is to consider the request Friday.
The panel’s executive committee endorsed the request by Rep. Jon Hubbard, R-Jonesboro, and recommended state auditors try to determine if there is any connection when they conduct their annual audit of the university later this year.
“Is this particular area somewhere that auditing needs to be involved?” asked Rep. Tim Summers, R-Bentonville.
Legislative Auditor Roger Norman said state auditors “can go in and try to determine if there has been any public funds spent on this particular event.”
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“Whether or not that was proper or not probably gets over in who is looking at it and how they want to maybe interpret it,” Norman added.
Five undocumented immigrants participated in the panel discussion, “Undocumented: Living in the Shadows,” April 23 on the UA campus.
Hubbard said he was told by UA Chancellor G. David Gearhart in April that no university funds were used and that the chancellor’s office was not involved in bringing the event to the university.
“If it is determined that (Gearhart’s) office was indeed used to plan … schedule this meeting, find a place, send out invitations and whatever they did with it, I think he would be contradicting what his answer to my question was,” Hubbard said.
The lawmaker said he exchanged e-mails with Gearhart and told him he thought the event, involving five undocumented immigrants, might be illegal. Gearhart responded that the event was part of the university’s overall attempt to present varying opinions and ideas on controversial issues to students so they can make informed decisions.
Hubbard later asked the attorney general’s office if the university was violating state or federal law by hosting the event.
On April 27, Bradford Phelps, chief deputy attorney general, sent Hubbard a letter saying the AG’s office was unable to respond to his request because it was requesting an investigation.
“Rather, official opinions are limited to addressing questions concerning the interpretation and application of state law … and questions of federal law, as those questions involve or require the interpretation of state law,” the letter stated.
The university’s public relations office did not immediately return a call seeking comment Thursday afternoon.