Reminder: Dont Use UW Email Accounts to Express Personal Views to Legislators

With the 2016 budget session of the Wyoming State Legislature approaching, University of Wyoming employees are reminded of UW’s guidelines for communicating with state and federal elected officials, agencies and other authorities.

UW Presidential Directive 1-2009-1 -- approved in April 2010, and still in force -- contains the following guidance:

“As citizens of Wyoming and as members of the university community, UW employees enjoy the rights of freedom of expression. They may freely consult and communicate with members of Congress, members of the Wyoming State Legislature, federal and state agencies and other federal and state authorities, including elected officials, as long as they indicate that their views are their own private views or their considered professional views and do not represent, imply representation of, or are authorized by the University of Wyoming. Personal letters should not appear on university letterhead. Equipment or resources of the university -- including university email accounts -- should not be used for such personal communication, since this may be construed to imply that the communication has been approved by or represents an official position of the University of Wyoming. University titles should not be used when signing personal letters; however, the writer may identify the writer’s job title in the text of a letter if this information is relevant to the communication.”

Use of UW email accounts to express personal views to policymakers also might be construed by the recipient that the sender is using government resources in an unauthorized manner.

To view the entire presidential directive, go here.