NO.
Recently our Alumni department kicked off a new Alumni benefit program that provides an opportunity to get lower-cost home and auto insurance from our partner, Liberty Mutual Insurance Company.
(By the way, this benefit is technically available to all Alumni and MU employees - I personally got a quote myself and was surprised that they beat my current provider. They said that it's because, as a group, MU people are less risky to insure because of our life habits; something about how we "don't smoke and chew or go out with girls who do." Plus, it's a great way to support your favorite institution of higher learning that has one of the best mission statements around. Yes, that's right, we do get a small percentage "kicked back" to us.)
The Trouble-Maker
www.multnomah.edu/goto/insurance
Jumping To Conclusions
So, we did what we usually do - what our Alumni have come to expect and are comfortable with - and mailed out a postcard announcing this good news (at least we thought it was good news).
Well, we instantly heard from Alumni who automatically assumed that Multnomah had sold or given away their private information - some of the notes and phone calls we received were angry! Some were passive-aggressively harsh. There was one individual who surmised that MU must be in "dire financial straits" to have to "resort to selling alumni and student information." (Who knows? Maybe I would have reacted the same way, but I come from a "Big State University" in Washington and I'm already used to being mistreated by my alumni association who always has their hand out.)
So, Does Multnomah Sell or Give Away Anyone's Information?
- NO.
- Never have.
- Never will.
- Your trust is too important.
- For students it's illegal to do so and we take HUGE pains to secure information here.
- Furthermore, nobody who has ever given any information to Multnomah has EVER given permission to us to "share" their information.
- We don't even ask for permission to "share" your information with other companies and organizations, because there is no reason to. There is no business process or initiative here that would warrant such an action.
- We handle our mailing lists, email lists, phone numbers, and everything else "in house". We have never given any permission for any other company to store "our" information for any reason. And if they do, they'll be in significant legal trouble from us for stealing and in violation of federal law regarding personal information that non-profits and higher-ed institutions must adhere to and enforce.
- Employees who have access to personal data must sign confidentiality statements where violation of said statements is actually a terminable offense.
- By the way, this all applies to donors too!
I promise you, you will never deal with another company or organization that takes your welfare and the integrity and security of your data as seriously or - dare I say - as lovingly as Multnomah University does.
Accountability
In the end, we are always thankful for how our community holds us accountable to the eternally important nature of how we conduct ourselves. We ask you to keep us honest... Keep us holy and set apart... Please... It is a good thing.
And maybe have just a little bit of faith that we are not always on the "slippery slope"...you wouldn't ever let us go that way anyway! Would you?
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