Recently, University of Wyoming employees have been receiving e-mails from political campaigns, which have raised a number of questions about the appropriateness of such actions and whether UW sells or otherwise makes available its e-mail lists.
UW has reviewed the e-mails in question and found that none originate from UW. They come unsolicited to UW's system.
A number of companies across the country are engaged in compiling lists of e-mail addresses to sell, and political campaigns are among their customers. Campaigns may also choose to compile their own lists from a variety of sources. UW does not furnish its employee e-mail lists to outside organizations, nor can we stop their collection, as e-mail addresses appear on our Web site as well as on a number of public documents.
While UW filters some SPAM, campaign e-mails represent only a tiny portion of that. Many e-mails contain an unsubscribe link, and we encourage employees to exercise that option if they don't wish to receive any unsolicited communication. Employees may also delete unwanted e-mails and contact the sender to request removal from their e-mail lists.
E-mails that originate from UW accounts are another matter. The UW e-mail system, as well as any other equipment or resources of the university, cannot be used for electioneering purposes by UW employees, nor should campaign materials be forwarded to promote candidates.
UW does not endorse candidates.
If you have any questions regarding this issue, e-mail Don Richards at drichar1@uwyo.edu.
