UCF keeps records hidden after instructor investigated for inappropriate relationship

Hello Kitty coloring book pages appeared on a University of Central Florida adjunct instructor’s office door recently, according to social media posts. The hand-drawn pictures wished the lecturer a happy birthday, calling him “daddie.”

Soon, the lecturer was gone at UCF.

Travis Meade’s departure generated internet rumors his teacher’s assistant drew the pictures that ended his UCF career.

Meade was fired from his $75,000-a-year job last month after he was investigated for having an inappropriate relationship with a student, the school confirmed, saying it had received more than one anonymous complaint this year.

“I want to take the opportunity to thank the faculty, staff and students that have made my 16 years at the University of Central Florida the most enriching period of my life,” Meade, who taught computer science, wrote in an Oct. 28 resignation email at 10:31 p.m. “In light of current events I am taking the opportunity to step down from my role as lecturer of the University of Central Florida.”

Gilmartin said Meade was terminated on Oct. 29.

The policy that Meade violated read in part, “As a matter of sound judgment and professional ethics, employees have a responsibility to avoid any apparent or actual conflict between their professional responsibilities and personal relationships with students.”

But the details of the anonymous complaints into Meade and the school’s probe are unknown because the school refuses to release the investigation into the taxpayer-funded employee. The resignation email is one of the few records UCF has disclosed.

“Due to publicly available online postings related to this matter, we are withholding additional records that would identify or could lead to the identification of a student in violation of state and federal privacy laws that protect education records,” UCF Assistant Vice President Courtney Gilmartin told Florida Politics. “Simply put, we are not going to violate state and federal student privacy laws.”

Florida Politics asked UCF to redact the student’s name to protect his or her identity, a common practice when the school releases investigations naming a victim or someone who filed a complaint. Again, UCF declined.

UCF’s response was hogwash, according to a First Amendment expert at the University of Florida.

David Cuillier said UCF shielding public records like this is “a great way for perpetrators to avoid public exposure, and it means rumors and speculation will trump facts.”

Cuillier is Director of Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications

He called UCF’s refusal to release investigative records a “bizarre twist of FERPA,” or the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

He warned it’s “a huge issue, where universities are emphasizing the privacy elements without balancing the importance of disclosing information of significant public concern.”

Florida Politics sent a message to Meade for comment but did not hear back.