Please send your comments to:

John Charles
Director of Information and Computing Services
California State University, Hayward
jcharles@csuhayward.edu

------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
From: Robert Dunn <rdunn@haywire.csuhayward.edu>
To: ALSS Chairs and Secretaries <alss@csuhayward.edu>
Subject: CETI plan Date: Thu, 23 Oct 1997

Dear Colleagues, 

This is to let you know that information about CETI, a proposal to form a business partnership between CSU and four large global communications technology companies (GTE, Huges, Fujitsu, and Microsoft), is available on the web. Here's the address: http://www.csus.edu/acse/. I have read much of this material, and I find these plans extremely problematic if not alarming. These corporations would develop communications infrastructure in the university in exchange for access to our students, faculty, staff, and others for purposes of research and development, marketing, and sales. This is indicated in section 4.4 "Participant Outcome Definitions", found in SCOPE AND STRUCTURE of the website menu. The legality and ethical propriety of such arrangements are open to considerable question, as this would amount to opening the doors of a public institution of higher learning (owned by taxpayers) to private corporations who would use the institution to develop and market their products. These plans have received little if any publicity. To my knowledge, faculty and staff have so far been largely uninformed of these proceedings (high level meetings were held April 16, 1997) and excluded from discussions and negotiations of a proposal bearing serious implications for them and higher education in the state of California. I urge you to consult the website as soon as possible and to start directing questions about this proposal to administrative officials, state legislators, faculty governing bodies, and local and statewide union leaders. (I understand there are plans to hold a forum on campus soon about the CETI proposal.)

Dr. Robert Dunn
Sociology and Social Services