Communications with Charles Nemeroff

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Texas Public Information Act, I hereby request the following records:

A copy of all communications between employees and administrators at the University of Texas' Dell Medical School and Charles Nemeroff, a professor of psychiatry who currently serves as the acting chair of the Department of Psychiatry.

I would also like a copy of the employment contract between Nemeroff and UT Austin.

I request that I be properly classified as a news media requester. I am an intern for the Chronicle of Higher Education, and I am requesting this information in that editorial capacity.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Liam Knox

Hello,

I'm following up to pre-emptively clarify my request: please limit your search to emails sent or received between June 2018 and June 2019. In addition, you may narrow your search to the following UT Austin employees' communications with Dr. Nemeroff:
President Gregory L. Fenves
Dell Medical School Dean Clay Johnston
Jorge Almeida
Maurie McInnis

I would also like to add to my request, a copy of all emails sent to Johnston or Fenves that include the keywords "Nemeroff," "Charles Nemeroff," "failure to disclose," "Glaxo," and "conflict of interest" from June 2018 to June 2019.

Thank you,

Liam Knox

Hello,

I'm following up on my request from June 4. Please let me know if you received it, and provide me an estimated date of completion.

Thank you!

Best,

Liam Knox
The Chronicle of Higher Education

Great, thank you!

--Liam

Hello,

I'd like to modify my request due to the high projected cost:

Please narrow your search to emails sent or received between August 2018 and January 2019, both for emails between Nemeroff and the specified UT Austin employees and for emails sent to or from Johnson and Fenves that include the specified keywords.

Please provide me with an updated cost estimate when ready.

Thank you,

Liam Knox
The Chronicle of Higher Education

Hi Bob,

I'd like to request a fee waiver, since this information is in the public interest and will be shared with them via news coverage in the Chronicle of Higher Education, a publication with a national reach. If there is some way we can narrow the request further without sacrificing valuable information, I'm also willing to discuss that. I just left you a message, but please give me a call at (202) 466-1712 when you're able to talk about this further.

Thanks!

--Liam

Hi Bob,

Here is a revised version of my request, more narrow in scope:

Pursuant to the Texas Public Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
A copy of all email communications sent between Dr. Charles Nemeroff and President Gregory L. Fenves
A copy of all email communications sent between Dr. Charles Nemeroff and Dell Medical School Dean Clay Johnston
For the above requests, please limit your search to the timeframe of June 2018 and December 2018.

I would also like to request a copy of all emails sent to or from Johnston and Fenves that include the keywords "Nemeroff" along with "failure to disclose" and/or "conflict of interest" from September 2018 to December 2018.

Please let me know what the revised fee is for this request ASAP. Thank you!

Best,

Liam Knox

Thank you, Bob! Please let me know what the fee estimate is ASAP if you're denying the waiver request, so I can talk to my editors about getting it funded.

Best,

Liam

Hello,

I'd like to revise my request to exclude all attachments to the emails already requested. Please provide me with an updated fee estimate before completing the request.

Thank you again for your help!

Best,

Liam

Hello,

I'm just following up to see if you've estimated the fee for the revised request yet. Please let me know ASAP, as I'd like to get the documents within the next two weeks.

Thanks,

Liam

Hi Bob,

Following up again because I'd really like to get started on this story soon if possible. If you could let me know what you estimate the fee will be by early next week at the latest, I'd greatly appreciate it. If it's still a steep fee, please give me a call during work hours at (202) 466-1712 to discuss further so we can expedite the process.

Thank you!

--Liam

Hi Bob,

Can you give me a call again tomorrow morning? I'm not sure why the fee is still so high, after narrowing my request about as much as possible. I'll be free after 10am, and can be reached at (202) 466-1712.

Thank you,

Liam

Hi Bob,

Thanks again for your help! I'd like to further amend my request to exclude the 260 page CV/resume attached to the offer letter that is included in the request. I know you told me the new fee estimate over the phone, but if you could send me an updated document with the new estimate for the purpose of asking my editor about funding it, that would be appreciated.

Best,

Liam

Hi Bob,

I spoke with my editor and I'd like to narrow my request even further if possible. Instead of requesting all communications between Nemeroff and Fenves/Johnston, I'd like to request all communications between them that include the keywords "conflict of interest," "speakers fee," "Glaxo Smith-Kline," "failure to disclose," "conulsting," "ghostwriting," and "ethical concerns." Please limit this part of the request to between July 2018 and December 2018. Please provide me with an updated fee estimate and responsive number of pages when you can.

Thank you!

Best,

Liam

Hi Bob,

Thanks for getting me these! However, there are no emails included, and my request was for communications between Fenves and Johnston, and Dr. Nemeroff. Was there a miscommunication in what I requested, or is there another reason there were no communications included?

Best,
Liam