Members of the University Board Thursday admitted they broke two bylaws and the Illinois Open Meetings Act during its last meeting.

UB Chair Caleb Judy said he plans on taking steps to correct the mistakes.

“We hope this will be resolved as quickly and completely as possible,” Judy said.

The UB held several votes for the concert coordinator position during executive session in its meeting Tuesday, a direct violation of the Open Meetings Act. The act states any meeting by a public governing body should remain open to the public.

A public body can go into closed session, but only for specified reasons, one of which includes the discussion of hiring and firing. No official action can be taken during the closed session.

The UB is a public body because it receives state funds through student fees.

The board also violated its own bylaw by electing Donna Fernandez to the concert coordinator position. A bylaw states coordinators must have at least two semesters left before graduating. Fernandez will graduate in May.

The board also has been in violation of a bylaw stating all expenses over $10 must be presented to the executive committee for approval.

“This wasn’t done maliciously, and really the bylaw is old and we’re hoping to revise it,” Judy said. “We did this based on precedent and because we wanted the best person for the job.”

Judy said last year the board elected a public relations coordinator who had less than half of a semester remaining before her graduation.

The process of Fernandez’s election was atypical.

The board took one vote wherein freshman history major David Jones won 5-4. Members of the board took a break after a long deliberation session, and during that break, some of the board members raised concerns about Jones’ election to UB Vice Chair Ryan Rinchuiso.

Movies coordinator Vince Vellitto and Melissa Burke-Huston asked if a concert coordinator-elect position could be created. Rinchuiso brought the concerns to Judy, and a motion was made and approved to nullify the first vote.

A second vote was taken to create the coordinator-elect position, and a third was taken in which Jones was elected to the position. A fourth vote was taken for the coordinator position to which Fernandez was elected.

Rinchuiso said he checked with communications law professor Scott Sievers to see if the UB could legally conduct business in execu