President Brown Apologizes For Sending Out Blank E-Mail Template

EAST CAMPUS—Following a confusing and embarrassing error in which he accidentally sent out a blank e-mail template, President Brown has sent out another official correspondence acknowledging the mistake and apologizing for it. You can read the text of President Brown’s apology below.Boston University Office of the PresidentRobert A. BrownPresident One Silber WayBoston, Massachusetts 02215April 30th, 2013Dear Friends of Boston University,It is with great embarrassment that I must report that I’ve been dishonest with my correspondence to you. Last night, an e-mail was sent from this account revealing a template for the messages that I have sent to you in times of tragedy. Over 40,000 people were affected by this e-mail, including various faculty, staff, and students of the university. I have learned that the Boston Police Department are underway in their investigation to learn if this account was hacked last night. The University is also currently providing help through the IT Help Center to discover exactly what happened.Our thoughts and prayers go to members of the community who read last night’s e-mail and felt betrayed. This tragedy comes close on the heels of many other saddening events which have deeply affected our community. There are resources for discussing your feelings and concerns about how sincere my e-mails are. Crisis counseling services can be reached at 617-353-7277, and Student Health Services and Behavioral Medicine at 617-353-3569. Students who wish to talk to the IT Help Center to prevent their account from also being hacked can call 617-353-4357. I recognize that these have been challenging days for Boston and for Boston University.Once again we are faced with distrust of me following last night’s very unusual e-mail. While we continue to work to provide support andsympathy to students, faculty and staff who read last night’s email, each of us should hold close all our colleagues and roommates, as we all been shaken by last night’s e-mail.Yours Sincerely,Robert A. BrownPresident