To:     Deans, Directors, Department Chairs and Administrative Officers

Maintaining national security while retaining the ability to engage in open scientific communication has become an important topic for U.S. universities.  In 2002 I distributed two guidance memos to the campus.  The first memo, issued in April 2002, dealt with balancing homeland security with scientific communication and provided an overview of export control promulgated by the federal departments of Commerce and State, the Patriot Act, and research in countries where the U.S. Department of the Treasury has imposed trade or economic sanctions.  The second memo, issued in November 2002, focused on the Treasury regulations issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control.

Since this guidance was issued, UCLA, along with other campuses of the University of California, has taken steps to educate our faculty and staff to heighten awareness of these various regulations and to ensure compliance with them.  As the result of discussions with colleagues at the University of California Office of the President, we have created a QuickGuide to Export Controls that summarizes various aspects of the laws and their application.  The QuickGuide has been posted on the Research Compliance and Policy website along with other related information.  Please see:  http://www.research.ucla.edu/researchpol/nsreg.htm.

In brief, export controls are federal regulations that restrict the movement of certain kinds of information, equipment and money out of the United States.  These regulations also restrict the transfer of certain information to foreign nationals within the U.S. The restrictions are based on regulations promulgated by the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and may affect many types of University activities:

• The transfer of “controlled information,” including technical data, to persons and entities outside the United States; or
  
  
• The transfer of “controlled information,” including technical data, to foreign nationals inside the United States; or
  
  
• The transfer of monies to certain countries where there are trade or economic embargoes or performing research in those countries.

The University of California seeks to balance the need for regulation in these areas with its long tradition of academic freedom based upon principles of openness in research, freedom of communication, and unfettered inquiry.  Under University of California policy, “freedom to publish results is a major criterion of the appropriateness of a research project.” Additionally, University policy makes clear that access to University classrooms, libraries, laboratories, and specialized research facilities must remain open, without regard to citizenship, residency status, or visa category.  It is therefore critical that all UCLA faculty and staff work together to ensure that research conducted by campus investigators complies with both governmental regulations and University policy.

If you have any questions about export controls or this guidance please contact either Ann Pollack, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research at x 40387, or Claudia Modlin, Coordinator, Research Policy and Compliance at x 42642.

Sincerely,

Roberto Peccei
Vice Chancellor for Research