A math professor at the University of Connecticut has reported being harassed and stalked by a researcher from China who was at UConn during the 2019-20 academic year.
In his written testimony, Fabrice Baudoin stated that he received hundreds of threatening emails, social media defamation, frivolous complaints filed with UConn, and voluminous Freedom of Information Act requests. The proposed bill that Baudoin supports would exempt certain records maintained or kept on file by the faculty or staff of a public college or university from the Freedom of Information Act. However, freedom of information groups opposes the bill, stating that it is too broad and that the current law has sufficient protections.
The Connecticut Council on Freedom of Information opposes a bill exempting the residential addresses of more public agency employees from disclosure. The bill passed out of committee on a party-line vote of 13-6, with Democrats voting in the majority. However, it could still be referred to another committee, be scheduled for a vote on the Senate floor, or die without a voice. Other FOI-related bills that have made it out of committee this year include one that would increase the maximum fine for Freedom of Information Act violations from $1,000 to $10,000 and another that would require members of a municipal public agency to be visible when joining a meeting remotely.
Colleen Murphy, Executive Director and General Counsel of the Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission, testified against the proposed bill, stating that there is a public interest in specific topics public university professors are studying. She noted that there are already exemptions in FOI law for preliminary drafts and notes, attorney-client privilege, and trade secrets, which could apply if professors were concerned about something with commercial value. Murphy also mentioned that a law providing a process for handling “vexatious requesters” was passed in Connecticut in 2018.
Sachin Pandya, a law professor at UConn, testified that “FOI-facilitated harassment ultimately aims to discourage research and teaching about certain topics,” which can threaten the competitiveness of public universities. He added that other states, including Rhode Island, New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia, have excluded faculty research or teaching from their FOIA laws. Richard Wilson, who recently served for two years as associate dean of the UConn School of Law, said that, remarkably, junior faculty and faculty of color “are concerned that their teaching and research are sensitive.