| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | |
| DATE: | June 18, 2007 |
| CONTACT: | Marshall Collins 361.825.2427; or Steve Paschal 361.825.2336 |
| Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Probing Details on Lost Files | |
Blair Sterba-Boatwright, chair of the Department of Mathematics, reported that the flash drive he had with him on vacation to Madagascar might have contained files that he used earlier in the year for a research project on student performance in mathematics. He believed that the files had been deleted prior to the trip.
Upon his return to the United States, Dr. Sterba-Boatwright said he noticed that the flash drive was missing and immediately notified University officials. In reconstructing files that may have been on the drive, it was discovered that the records could be those of students who were enrolled at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi during the spring, summer and fall 2006 semesters.
“We’re reaching out as broadly as possible to notify students who may be affected by this incident,” said Flavius C. Killebrew, president of the University. “Although nothing may ever come from the loss of this flash drive, we chose to take a very open approach to ensure that our students are made aware of the potential risk.”
Dr. Killebrew added that administrators from the University’s information technology and academic affairs areas are reviewing the incident.
“There is much still to be learned from our review,” Dr. Killebrew said. “We want to put measures in place so that there will be little likelihood that this could ever happen again.”
On Monday, June 18, the University launched a Web site linked from its home page that provides an overview of the incident and directs students to other Web sites regarding identify theft and the protection of personal information. The Web site, www.tamucc.edu/identity.html, will also be used to provide updates on the investigation.
An e-mail was sent June 15 to more than 8,000 students whose information may have been in the files, and letters with additional information will also be mailed to their home addresses.