Princeton demotes official over Yale Web intrigue

PRINCETON, New Jersey (Reuters) -- Princeton University demoted a top admissions official on Tuesday for repeatedly entering the online admissions notification system of Yale University in an incident that marred the prestige of two of America's leading universities.

Princeton President Shirley Tilghman said Stephen LeMenager would no longer work in the admissions office, where as associate dean and director of admissions he improperly accessed a Web site designed to let applicants know whether they had been accepted as students at Yale University.

Dean of Admissions Fred Hargadon accepted responsibility for his failure to recognize the impropriety of his staff's intrusions and will retire at the end of the next academic year in June 2003, Tilghman said. At least nine lower-ranking members of Princeton's admissions staff also face disciplinary action, she said.

Connecticut-based Yale University, which was embarrassed by the exceedingly low level of security on its Web site, welcomed Princeton's announcement.

"President Tilghman has handled a very difficult situation in an exemplary manner," Yale President Richard Levin said in a statement.

Last month, Yale said its site was accessed 14 times from computers in Princeton's admissions office during the month of April.

Tilghman also ordered training on computer ethics for Princeton's entire admissions staff and a wholesale review of the university's policies on data security and privacy.

"Violations of basic ethical principles of privacy and confidentiality are especially serious in a university that teaches these principles and counts them among its core values," she said.

Ethical breaches

"We had to weigh the ethical breaches, the very serious mistakes in judgment that were those actions against the way it is appropriate to treat long-term, dedicated, stellar employees of the university," Tilghman said at a conference presenting the results of an internal investigation.

LeMenager, who was named second-in-command of the admissions office in July 2001, entered the Yale Web site on April 3 using the name, birth date and Social Security number of prospective students.

According to Princeton's investigation, LeMenager initially visited the site because Princeton was considering starting some sort of electronic notification of admission for students.

When he discovered no additional password or codes were required to enter Yale's site, he discussed his finding with Hargadon and other admissions staff and entered the Web site three more times to demonstrate.

Junior staffers entered Yale's admissions site eight more times on April 3, and again on April 5 and April 15. Four other inquiries originating from Princeton computers were authorized visits to the site by students acting on behalf of siblings who had applied to Yale, Tilghman said.

LeMenager, raised the security issue at a meeting of Ivy League admissions officers in May, where Yale was represented.

Tilghman said she was not approached by Yale until July 24, the day before an article by the Yale Daily News student newspaper.

Yale has referred the intrusions to the U.S. attorney for Connecticut and Tilghman said Princeton is cooperating with the inquiry being conducted by the attorney's office.

The U.S. attorney's office would not comment.