Dear Faculty, Staff and Students:

One of the truly great freedoms we enjoy as Americans is the opportunity to live in a democracy and participate in the selection of leaders at the federal, state and local levels of government.

Over the next few months, there will be heightened interest in races for the U. S. Congress as well as Tennessee’s Governor and General Assembly.

I encourage every member of the UT family to learn as much as possible about the views of every candidate on the issues important to you, including future funding for The University of Tennessee.

Attend public forums. Read newspapers. Listen to reports on radio and television.

When Election Day rolls around on Nov. 5, cast your vote for the individuals best representative of your views.

As you engage the political process, however, I want to offer a note of caution.

Tennessee’s “Little Hatch Act” prohibits use of university resources on behalf of any specific candidate for political office.

So, if you want to urge others to support a particular candidate, make sure you do not use UT computers, printers, letterhead, e-mail and surface mail systems, facilities or other resources to express your views.

Further, if you are a faculty or staff member, partisan activities should be done on non-UT time.

Cordially, John W. Shumaker UT President