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CatCard wins Governor's Excellence Award

UA CatCard officials may have won the Governor's Excellence Award last month for their use of "smart card" technology, but some students say the choice was just plain dumb.

"It's kind of moronic ... that the governor gave an award to a program that had so many problems," said Cisco Aguilar, Associated Students of the University of Arizona president. "I'm sure they gave it to them based on the technology."

The CatCard program came under fire in 1998 after releasing several hundred student, faculty and staff Social Security numbers to the Saguaro Credit Union and MCI Communications Group.

Schools are prohibited by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 from releasing students' personally identifiable information without permission.

Physics senior Andrew Tubbiolo, who was among the students whose Social Security numbers were released, said he is angry that the CatCard was rewarded for their work.

"It seems as if the governor's office doesn't care about our privacy," Tubbiolo said. "The whole situation is indicative of how the university doesn't care about student privacy and property."

Tubbiolo and Terry Bressi, an engineer at the UA's lunar and planetary laboratory, were among the first to investigate the CatCard's disclosure.

Bressi said yesterday he was "very surprised" that the CatCard received this award.

"I can't see in any way how this program serves in any form of excellence," he said.

But Liz Taylor, CatCard director, said the award has nothing to do with the early controversy.

"That's water under the bridge," Taylor said. "We're really at the top of the game in terms of privacy."

The Governor's Office says that the award program "recognizes and rewards quality, excellence and continuous improvement efforts of agencies."

Rhonda Carrillo, a spokeswoman for Gov. Jane Hull, said judges were unaware of any privacy violations during the award process.

"We strictly went by the application, we didn't look at any of that," Carrillo said.

She added that the information wouldn't be considered unless it was included in the award application.

Two UA Human Resources Ventures - the Employee Reimbursement Project and the Smart Start program for new employees - also received recognition.

The CatCard program was awarded for its technological efficiency and work flow improvement as well as university contribution, Taylor said.

She added that the CatCard's use of an electronic status program and "smart chip" technology have improved the campus.

"The CatCard has done an amazing job," she said. "Now we know our resources are going where they should go."

Aguilar said that although he was concerned by student privacy issues, he does applaud the CatCard's use of technology.

"I'm glad to see the UA was recognized," Aguilar said. "It (the CatCard) has made the university more efficient as far as students are concerned."

Bressi said he can't separate the CatCard's technological efficiency from the early controversy.

"They (Governor's Office employees) shouldn't just be taking a one-sided approach when they're giving an award like that," he said.

But Taylor said CatCard officials are proud of the work they've done, regardless of any negative outcry.

"We're trying to look on the positive side," she said.