For Data Privacy Month this year, our theme is “Respecting Privacy, Safeguarding Data, Enabling Trust.” If I were re-writing the theme, I would add “Privacy Matters.” It matters a lot.
Data Privacy Month (January 28–February 28) presents an opportunity for universities to collaborate with one another, and to raise awareness on our campuses about the importance of protecting privacy rights.
On our campuses, privacy is not simply a legal obligation. Our privacy policies and practices pave the way for us to build trust and demonstrate respect for our faculty, staff, and students.
I encourage you to use this time to recognize the importance of privacy on your campus. Talk about it. Tell your colleagues how your campus upholds it. Invite discussions. If you need ideas for outreach, visit the EDUCAUSE Data Privacy Month website for materials and suggestions. If you have time at 1 p.m. (Eastern) on Thursday, January 30, register for the EDUCAUSE Live! event featuring Privacy Journal publisher Robert Ellis Smith, speaking about “Location, Location, Location.”
Privacy matters. Please become a Data Privacy Month champion, and help promote this important event.
Cheryl Washington, CIPP/US, CIPP/G, CISM, CISA, CRISC, is the chief information security officer for the University of California, Davis. She chaired this year’s Data Privacy Month planning committee, and thanks everyone who worked on the committee with her.