From: Gary Ruskin Date: Tue, Mar 3, 2015 at 9:36 AM Subject: Re: Quick question about a FOIA request To: Gretchen Goldman Thank you, Gretchen. On Tue, Mar 3, 2015 at 4:49 AM, Gretchen Goldman wrote: Hi Gary, My suggested language would be something like "correspondence pertaining to funding and other financial ties between Cornell and the below named entities." I understand why you would want to investigate this but it is an issues we need to be consistent on so our position would be that the ask has to pertain to funding and related stipulations only. Thanks. Sent from my Galaxy S®III -------- Original message -------From: Gary Ruskin Date:03/02/2015 3:46 PM (GMT-05:00) To: Gretchen Goldman Subject: Re: Quick question about a FOIA request Hi Gretchen, Thanks so much for your reply. I really appreciate it. We have no desire to infringe on academic freedom. But how can you infringe on the academic freedom of a nonacademic unit? Is there language you would suggest to add? Something like: "This is not a request for any materials related to ongoing academic research." Can you think of any better language? In effect, the Cornell Alliance for Science does PR work for the agrichemical industry. See: http://news.cornell.edu/stories/2014/08/newcornell-alliance-science-gets-56-million-grant It sure seems to me that such work -- essentially the use of the good name of Cornell for the interests of the agrichemical industry -- is a perfectly good thing to investigate via FOI. Best, Gary Best, Gary Best, Gary On Mon, Mar 2, 2015 at 12:26 PM, Gretchen Goldman wrote: Hi  Gary,   Thanks  for  sharing  it.    First  off,  in  the  interest  of  full  disclosure,  I  did   my  undergrad  at  Cornell.  I’ve  never  heard  of  the  Alliance  for  Science   though.   Per  our  conversation  before,  I  think  we  would  again  say  this  is  too   broad  and  needs  to  be  focused  on  correspondence  concerning   financial  ties  only,  as  opposed  to  all  correspondence,  for  us  to  be  feel   it  is  sufficiently  narrow  so  as  not  to  infringe  on  academic  freedom.    Let   me  know  if  any  elaboration  would  be  helpful.     Thanks,   Gretchen     -­‐-­‐ Gretchen T. Goldman, Ph.D. Lead Analyst, The Center for Science and Democracy Office: 202-331-6942 Union of Concerned Scientists 1825 K Street NW, Suite 800 Washington, DC 20006 Subscribe to my blog Follow me on Twitter The Union of Concerned Scientists puts rigorous, independent science to work to solve our planet's most pressing problems. Joining with citizens across the country, we combine technical analysis and effective advocacy to create innovative, practical solutions for a healthy, safe, and sustainable future. www.ucsusa.org Take action with our citizen network or expert network. Support our work. Join the conversation on our blog or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.       From: Gary Ruskin [mailto:gary@usrtk.org] Sent: Monday, March 02, 2015 2:35 PM To: Gretchen Goldman Subject: Quick question about a FOIA request Gretchen, Attached is a draft FOIA request for documents from something called the Cornell Alliance for Science. They appear to be a pro-agrichemical industry PR shop based at Cornell. As far as I can tell, they do no academic work whatsoever. Could you please take a quick look at the attached draft FOI request to see if you have any concerns about it? Thank you! Best, Gary -Gary Ruskin Executive Director U.S. Right to Know gary@usrtk.org (415) 944-7350 @garyruskin