As much as the flexible hours and offices filled with graded papers might lead them to think otherwise, UNC professors are state employees. They should remember that with the 2012 elections approaching.
That fact appeared to have been lost earlier this month on eminent chemistry professor Joseph DeSimone when he provided his email contact list to the re-election campaign of Gov. Bev Perdue. The campaign dutifully used the contact information to send an unsolicited email to the physics and astronomy listserv, raising concerns about a possible campaign finance violation, and even a security breach.
DeSimone said he only intended for individuals to be emailed — not entire listservs. It’s only because the listserv was public rather than private, as officials originally feared, that the emails were not considered a breach of security.
And though he was cleared of any wrongdoing after the University decided his actions were unintentional, the faculty should still take a lesson from a miscue by one of UNC’s best and brightest.
On Sept. 14, the campaign emailed the listserv, inviting its members to a fundraiser DeSimone hosted Monday at his house and providing a link for faculty to make contributions of up to $4,000 to the campaign. The email included the names of several prominent professors, politicians and members of the Board of Trustees who had already donated.
No matter DeSimone’s intentions, the case still violates the spirit of the law prohibiting a state employee from using state resources to coerce another state employee to contribute to a political candidate or party.
By sending this email, it stands to reason that some of the faculty could face undue influence to consider donating to or supporting Perdue.
Professors must be more careful to remember they are employed by the state and the taxpayer dollars that fuel it. Many of their salaries are as state-funded as the average bureaucrat’s, and must take care to respect that duty, as well as the political rights and views of their colleagues.
