"Yesterday, the University of North Florida notified me that it had searched my email ..."

[Hekate]

16. In the 1980s I worked in Personnel at UC Santa Barbara. Labor law, both then & now...

You are on the clock — your time is theirs
You are in their building — your work product is theirs
You are using their computer or lab equipment — the contents are theirs
You create or invent a patentable item — the patent is theirs

There is NO presumption of privacy if you use the university’s computers for email or work. (Some have discovered the hard way that there is likewise no presumption of privacy if you cruise for porn.)

Use your own phone. Use your own computer. Never confuse theirs and yours, especially if part of your job involves taking your employer’s computer home.

Do. Not. Do. It.

I worked on the staff side, not the academic side. Academics are accustomed to having more freedom in how they use their time, especially in the old days. But the institution is an employer, and they can invoke their own rights, which are considerable.