SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — The UC San Diego Faculty Association is demanding answers from university leadership after learning that the UC Office of the President shared personal information of 160 UC Berkeley faculty, students and staff with the federal government.
The faculty association sent a letter to UCSD's chancellor expressing concerns and asking if similar personally identifiable information from their campus may have been disclosed without their knowledge. This information can include birth dates, Social Security numbers, and home addresses, among others.
"There's been no communication. So unlike at Berkeley, where all of those faculty, staff, and students were informed, we've been basically not informed or kept in the dark," said Javier Duarte, a board member for the UCSD Faculty Association.
UC San Diego referred ABC 10News' questions to the UC Office of the President, which confirmed the Berkeley information release in a statement. The office said they have a legal obligation to respond to information requests that come from audits, compliance reviews or investigations.
However, the statement did not confirm what the investigation involves or whether UCSD faculty and student information was shared. According to Berkeley's student paper, the investigation there is related to alleged antisemitism on its campus.
"We'd like to know if they disclosed information related to our staff, faculty, and students, what information was disclosed, if it's any personally identifiable information, any names," said Duarte.
Moving forward, the faculty association wants to be notified of any new requests from the federal government and included in conversations when the university makes these decisions.
The association expressed concerns about the broader implications of information sharing with federal authorities.
"It has a chilling effect on our freedom of speech, and we aren't able to share and exchange ideas freely, and we don't because for fear of maybe ending up on some list they get sent to the federal government," said Duarte.
Below is the full statement from the UC Office of the President:
"The University of California, like many institutions nationwide, is subject to oversight by federal and state agencies and has legal obligations to respond to information requests arising from audits, compliance reviews, and investigations. Earlier this month, UC Berkeley provided notice to a group of students and employees whose information had been included in materials provided to a federal agency during a federal investigation.
Where a legal obligation has been identified, UC has complied with investigative requests consistently over many years and across numerous administrations, reflecting the University's overall commitment to compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including applicable privacy laws. UC will continue to meet its legal obligations while exploring all legal avenues to safeguard the privacy and trust of our community members.”
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