[More University of Minnesota
faculty go off the rez,
this time in the medical school]


University of Minnesota Faculty Advisory Committee

Requests Vote Of Medical School Faculty

on Question of Dedicated Dean

A unilateral decision was made on this topic by the Morrill Hall Gang earlier.

No one I've talked to on the Medical School faculty thinks that this new arrangement was a good one. We are very much annoyed that even a kowtow toward faculty governance was not paid. These actions are in the same category with the unilateral attempt to rub out the graduate school.

Is faculty governance and adequate consultation at the University of Minnesota a joke?

From the Survey:

1. Medical School FAC Time-Sensitive Request for Faculty Vote

The Medical School FAC asks every faculty member to please read the background information and vote on the following motion. This motion was unanimously supported by a vote of the FAC on Tuesday, June 1st 2010.

MOTION:

The Medical School should have a Dean whose sole responsibility is the optimal function of the Medical School and the Dean of the Medical School should report directly to the President of the University.

BACKGROUND:

From 1970 until this academic year the Academic Health Center (AHC) was led by a Senior Vice President who was responsible for the six collegiate units, each led by their own Dean.

This model was changed by President Bruininks so that the same individual currently is both the Senior VP and the Dean of the Medical School.

In both the prior and current structures, the Senior VP reports directly to the President of the University. With the upcoming changes in University leadership at the levels of the President, AHC Senior VP and Medical School Dean, faculty governance and administrative groups have carefully considered the functionality of the current system prior to the hiring of new AHC and Medical School leaders.

These groups believe it wise to provide clear input to the President and Board of Regents prior to the hiring of new AHC and Medical School leaders and President Bruininks has indicated his desire for broad faculty consultation. Since he plans to make a decision about the administrative model this month, the FAC believes it is important to have Medical School faculty-wide input prior to this decision.

The Medical School FAC met with President Bruininks and discussed how to optimize the leadership structure for the health sciences, including the medical school, and the FAC sent him a letter expressing the our views.

The FAC feels that the current administrative structure creates conflicts of two types for the joint Senior VP / Dean individual. The first is a conflict of time allocation – as given its size, scope and impact the Medical School Deanship is clearly a full-time job (parenthetically, the FAC commends Dr. Paller for his excellent service in his Medical School role).

The second concern is that there is a potential conflict of interest; the Senior VP/Dean cannot argue strongly as an advocate for the Medical School relative to the other AHC Schools, while simultaneously there is risk of being perceived as biased in decision-making as Senior VP. The final FAC concern is that there is continued reduplication of effort and resources between the AHC and constituent colleges.

Currently the joint Senior VP/Dean reports directly to President Bruininks. Given the size and importance of the Medical School to the University, the FAC views this as a very desirable aspect of the current structure and believes that going forward the Dean of the Medical School should report directly to the President. Some facts in support of this reporting relationship are that the Medical School currently:

- garners more than one-third of the University’s external research funding

- is the primary home of more than 40% of University faculty

- constitutes a large fraction of the University’s overall (all funds) budget

The leadership Councils of both the Clinical and Basic Science (Department) Chiefs also met with President Bruininks. At the Medical School Faculty Assembly and at meetings of the FAC the leaders of both Councils have indicated their opposition to the current joint Senior VP/Dean administrative structure and strongly support a structure such as the one indicated in this motion.

The FAC very much appreciates the faculty’s attention and involvement in these important considerations!!

*

1. The Medical School should have a Dean whose sole responsibility is the optimal function of the Medical School and the Dean of the Medical School should report directly to the President of the University.

The Medical School should have a Dean whose sole responsibility is the optimal function of the Medical School and the Dean of the Medical School should report directly to the President of the University. In Favor

Opposed

Abstain

[My vote is indicated above. I predict that the result will be overwhelmingly in support of the resolution. President Bruininks and Board of Regents: Show me that you are serious about faculty governance and consultative input.]

Note added July 6: the vote was overwhelmingly in favor of the resolution (92%). For details, please see: University of Minnesota Medical School Faculty Votes Overwhelmingly for a Dedicated Dean.

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