By Lisa Wade McCormick
ConsumerAffairs.com
June 13, 2010
A University of Colorado professor is under fire for lending her name and the universitys letterhead -- without authorization -- to recruit participants for an upcoming People to People trip to South Africa.
The solicitation has also irked a Texas couple, who say they received one of the letters addressed to a name that closely resembled a deceased family member.
This is the latest marketing gaffe involving the company that handles People to People trips and that has a history of sending similar solicitations for overseas journeys to the parents of deceased children.
At the heart of this newest controversy is a solicitation written by University of Colorado at Boulder (CU) professor Margaret Eisenhart, Ph.D., with the School of Education.
ConsumerAffairs.com learned that Eisenhart wrote the letter on CU stationery, but did not have permission to use the universitys letterhead or logo for the solicitation designed to lure more people for the South African trip.
Weve also learned that CU does not have any commercial ties to People to People and did not give the travel company authorization to use the universitys stationery in its marketing campaign.
In the solicitation, Eisenhart encourages recipients to participate in an upcoming Women in Higher Education trip to South Africa through People to People Citizen Ambassador Programs.
I invite you to join me to participate in this important international exchange, Eisenhart writes. Our goals will be to learn about South African womens representation in higher education, current research on women in higher education in South Africaand the issues facing South African women in higher education today.
Eisenhart readily discloses her academic ties to CU and even touts that relationship in the letters first sentence.
As University Distinguished Professor of educational anthropology and research methodology at the University of Colorado, I am honored to have been selected as leader of the Women in Higher Education Delegation to South Africa, states Eisenhart, who has served as a delegation leader on at least three other People to People trips.
The professor applauds the trips affiliation with People to People Ambassador Programs, which is part of the publicly-traded Ambassadors Group, Inc. (EPAX). The Spokane, Washington, company arranges and markets worldwide educational trips -- under the People to People name -- for students, athletes, and professionals.
In conjunction with People to People Citizen Ambassador Programs, this delegation has been developed to foster dialogue with our overseas counterparts and to continue the tradition of professional diplomacy first set forth by President Eisenhower in 1956, Eisenhart writes.
Prof. Margaret Eisenhart (University photo)
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In the event that you are unable to accept this invitation, an alternate delegate candidate may be invited, she warned, adding recipients can also recommend someone else for the trip.
Eisenharts letter appears to be targeted to higher education professionals that she personally handpicked. I believe you would contribute valued expertise to the team while gaining both personally and professionally from the experience, she states.
No relationship
But a Texas couple who received the solicitation says they dont have a personal or professional relationship with Eisenhart. And they want to find out how she -- or People to People -- obtained their private home address.
They also want to know why the solicitation was addressed to a name that is almost identical to the wifes deceased mother. The only difference is the middle initial its a G in the letter instead of the correct C.
My mom never lived at this address, said the womans daughter, Mary. Id like to know how they got the name or what they thought was a name.
Mary also wonders why her moms name is still on any companys mailing list. She died five years ago, Mary said. She was 85.
My mom was involved in the field of higher education all her life, Mary said. She had a Ph.D in education and this is the kind of letter that my mom would receive. But its clear somebody has a database that is really messed up.
Not the first time
As ConsumerAffairs.com has reported, this isnt the first time People to People has sent a solicitation for one of its oversea trips to the family of a deceased person.
A Florida couple has received two different letters in two different years -- from People to People inviting their deceased daughter to take an educational trip abroad. The letters came in 2006 and 2008. But the couples daughter died in 1992. She was 18 days old.
People to People has also invited a deceased cat on one of its trips. The "Parents of Earl Gray" received a letter in 2006 stating their "son" was eligible for a trip to Europe and "named for this honor by a teacher, former Student Ambassador or national academic listing."
But the Arkansas parents told us Earl was their all white, one-eyed, cat. He died in 1996 and is buried in the couple's back yard. He was 14 years old.
People to People also came under fire in 2005 after an Iowa woman received one of the companys letters stating her son was named for a Student Ambassador trip overseas. The woman's son, however, died in 1993. He was seven weeks old. People to People has blamed the company that handled its mailing list for these errors.
Tyler Hill, Minnesota teen who died on a 2007 People to People trip to Japan (Family photo)
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Back in Texas, Mary and her husband -- a former teacher -- raised other concerns about the solicitation they received from Eisenhart. They questioned the professors decision to lend her name, academic title, and the schools stationery for a solicitation not authorized by the university.
My mom never lent her name out, Mary said. This sounds somewhat strange to meI think there are definitely some issues here that need to be addressed.
Im not as angry about this as I am baffled, she added. But if this is a scam, Im not happy that my mom is associated in any way.
The couple also said the universitys name and logo on the solicitation gave it credibility at least at first blush. And they wondered why -- or if -- the state-funded university would allow its name and stationery to be used in a solicitation for an outside company.
I immediately zeroed in on the letter because it was from a university, Mary said, adding CUs name was listed on the envelope. From a marketing standpoint, its a smart move, but if its inappropriate it needs to stop.
Solicitations about the trip, however, didnt stop.
A second letter
A few days after Mary and her husband received the first letter about the South Africa trip, another one arrived at their home. The second letter was also addressed to the same name that closely resembled Marys deceased mother.
It came from People to Peoples director of Professional Programs and solidified the relationship between Eisenhart and the travel company.
We are honored to have Dr. Eisenhart as the delegation leader, the companys Yvonne Trudeau wrote. Her guidance in the development of this project has been invaluable.
Trudeaus letter, however, isnt written on CU stationery. Its penned on People to People International (PPI) letterhead. PPI is a non-profit organization based in Kansas City, Missouri, that boasts about its ties to a former United States President.
Founded in 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, as a vehicle to expand international relations beyond the structure of government agencies, People to People International is a nonpolitical, private-sector organization dedicated to promoting international peace and understanding, Trudeaus wrote in her letter.
But Eisenhowers name is not listed on the incorporation records for PPI filed with the Missouri Secretary of State. Those records reveal Alfred Frankfurter, Franklin Murphy, and Joyce C. Hall incorporated the non-profit organization in October 1961.
ConsumerAffairs.com learned that PPI has a contractual agreement with the Ambassadors Group that allows the company to use People to Peoples name and logo when marketing the educational trips. Tax records show revenue from those trips is funneled back into the coffers of the PPI, which is run by President Eisenhowers granddaughter, Mary Eisenhower.
In her letter, Trudeau makes a strong sales pitch for academics to take the South Africa trip and warns they could lose their places if they dont respond quickly in writing and with their checkbooks.
To accept this invitation, please complete and return the enclosed application with a $500 per-person deposit as soon as possible, Trudeau states.
No comment
ConsumerAffairs.com contacted People to People Ambassador Programs about the solicitations and the use of CUs stationery in the marketing campaign. The company did not respond to our repeated inquiries. We also contacted Professor Eisenhart, but she didnt respond to our inquiries, either.
A CU spokesman told us the university wasnt aware of the solicitations -- and the use of its stationery in this recruiting effort -- until contacted by ConsumerAffairs.com.
Now that were aware of this, were certainly going to desist, spokesman Bronson R. Hilliard said. Our faculty are advised not to lend official stationery with department logo to anyone without clearing it first with the university. She (Professor Eisenhart) had not done that.
Weve spoken to her and her dean about this and they understand what went wrong and are fixing it, he added.
Hilliard confirmed that Eisenhart wrote the solicitation, but said she had no knowledge about how the mailing list was compiled or used.
She was asked to write a letter to recruit other people like herself to go on this trip with her, he said. She doesnt know any of the particulars about the mailing list. She was open about this and said she didnt know any of the details. She agreed to write the letter and assumed that it would go to other faculty.
Hilliard also told us that CU had no role in marketing the solicitation or generating the mailing list used. The university, he added, has no commercial ties to People to People or the Ambassadors Group and did not authorize them to use of its stationery or logo in the solicitation that is not sanctioned by CU.
Asked if CU is covering the cost for Eisenharts trip, Hilliard said: Her trip is paid for by People to People, but she is not paid by People to People. She receives no stipend or fee. He also confirmed that Eisenhart has taken previous trips with People to People and found them to be productive and enriching.
"Regrettable situation"
Hilliard called it a regrettable situation when he learned that Mary received a solicitation -- on CU stationery -- addressed to a name that closely resembled her deceased mother.
There was no harm intended (by CU or Eisenhart) to the good family of this deceased individual, he said.
ConsumerAffairs.com also contacted the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) about the solicitation.
Spokesman Greg Scholtz said professors are advised not to blur the lines between their private lives and their academic roles at a college or university. And he cited two AAUP policies that he said address this issue:
*The 1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure, which states, in part, that when speaking or writing as citizens, college professors should make every effort to indicate they are not speaking for the institution;
*The organizations Statement on Professional Ethics, which states that professors have the rights and obligations of other citizens. But when they speak or act as private persons, professors should avoid creating the impression of speaking or acting for their college or university.
Back in Boulder, Hilliard acknowledged that CU has not done a good job of communicating to its faculty where the boundaries are when lending their names -- or the universitys stationery for promotional activities.
Professor Eisenhart did not check with anyone about this and she didnt realize that she needed to check with anyone, he said. This is a wake-up call to our institution. We will be conducting training with our department chairs and the deans of our colleges and schools and make sure that information about those boundaries is passed on to our faculty.
We will go the extra mile to make sure the faculty knows that using our letterhead and symbols is not something you do without checking with us first.
Hilliard also said he will remind faculty members to thoroughly check the background of any organization or association before lending them their names and support.
I will urge them to do a little more research, ask those tough questions, and find out how theyre (the groups) are marketing themselves, he said, adding he shared the stories ConsumerAffairs.com has written about People to People with Eisenhart and her dean.
Im going to use this (experience) as a media training for our faculty, Hilliard told us. This is a teaching moment. And rest assured weve learned a lesson at CU Boulder.
