Angry Jon Huntsman Sr. calls for ousting of U. president
Heard about this earlier in the week...boy has it turned into a sh$t storm for the University of Utah and the state. :topes:
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SALT LAKE CITY — An angry Jon Huntsman Sr. on Friday called for the ousting of University of Utah President David Pershing, saying he "should have been let go a long time ago."
Huntsman, still seething about the university's firing earlier this week of Dr. Mary Beckerle, Huntsman Cancer Institute director and chief executive officer, claims the leadership at the school is incompetent and unethical, and says the firing was done out of greed.
Huntsman called on the "people of Utah" to help remove Pershing from his post, and he wants the same for Dr. Vivian Lee, CEO of University of Utah Health Care, dean of the U. School of Medicine, and senior vice president for health sciences.
Pershing and Lee sent an email Monday informing faculty and staff that Beckerle's tenure heading the institute was over. Presumably, they were also the ones who informed Beckerle she was being fired in an email sent to her earlier that day, according to Huntsman.
"It's just a pathetic, pathetic situation that needs to be corrected, and only the people of Utah … can correct it by (sending) letters, by getting rid of this president and particularly this woman (Lee) who runs the university for him and is completely unethical and untrustworthy," Huntsman said on KSL Newsradio's "The Doug Wright Show."
When asked Friday to respond to Huntsman's tirade, Pershing sent a prepared statement that did not address the call for his dismissal.
"We are so grateful for everything the Huntsman family has done to help the university. We sincerely want to continue to work with them to further Jon's wonderful vision," Pershing said. "The Huntsman Cancer Institute is one of the crown jewels of the University of Utah, and I am committed to ensuring its continued success."
Lee could not immediately be reached for comment.
In a statement Thursday, University of Utah Health Care spokeswoman Kathy Wilets said the academic health care system cares about its employes, "and we want to support them in the good work they do.”
“We understand emotions are running high, but as you can imagine, out of respect for everyone involved, we can’t provide further information about personnel issues," Wilets said.
In the email announcing the end of Beckerle's tenure, Pershing and Lee praised her for bringing Huntsman Cancer Institute to "new heights" but didn't address why she was fired or discuss any other circumstances of her termination. As of Friday, the university had not commented on the reasoning behind the decision.
Dr. Mary Beckerle has been fired as CEO and director of the Huntsman Cancer Institute in a move that has drawn the outrage of founder Jon Huntsman Sr., who on Tuesday promised lawsuits are to come and said the university has been acting unethically.
Huntsman, a billionaire businessman and well-known philanthropist, provided the funds to found Huntsman Cancer Institute in 1993. The Huntsman Cancer Foundation, currently directed by son Peter Huntsman, contributes roughly one-third of the institute's funding, according to information posted online.
Huntsman said he believes the U.'s goal is to aid the finances of University Hospital by using money from Huntsman Cancer Institute, which he says is more successful.
"The whole deal at the university is to take us over, so it will fill … the minuses, the losses at the University Hospital. They think by stealing our money, by taking the money from Huntsman Cancer (Institute), that some way or another will help make them look better," he told Wright.
A full-page advertisement in both the Deseret News and Salt Lake Tribune on Friday — attributed to Huntsman and Huntsman Cancer Institute — accuses university administrators of being "over bloated, inept and uncaring."
The ad says: "Grateful appreciation to our valiant cancer patients, doctors, researchers, staff and the marvelous university students. Thanks also to a thoughtful Legislature and the great citizens of Utah for their support. Our only goal is to eradicate cancer — with the world's finest institute and hospital and its world-renowned leader, Dr. Mary Beckerle.
"We must not tolerate an over bloated, inept and uncaring University of Utah administration who are determined to derail this life-saving work."
Huntsman praised the success of the institute.
"I just hope (people) will understand that we have a great center. It's going full-bore. We have the best treatment in the world. It's been recognized as one of the top five in the whole world," he said. "It's a tragedy that when things are going so well, they come out of nowhere and try to pillage us and take the money."
Huntsman also claimed the university has not paid $65 million in obligations to the Huntsman Cancer Foundation for improvements and expansions on the Huntsman Cancer Institute campus.
Huntsman told KSL earlier this week that he planned to file lawsuits, and reiterated that intent Friday. He specifically mentioned a defamation lawsuit on Beckerle's behalf.
Huntsman also criticized Gov. Gary Herbert, saying the governor's response to Beckerle's dismissal shows he was not taking the situation seriously enough.
"The governor said, 'Well, I'm going to look into it. My wife told me there's something going on up there.' I just about died — just about died," Huntsman told Wright.
"I supported him. He succeeded our son, Jon (Huntsman) Jr.," he said. "I'm just ready to cry every day. This is my life's work. Our family's put every penny we've made into it."
Herbert's office declined to comment Friday when reached by KSL.
Huntsman also attacked H. David Burton, chairman of the U. board of trustees.
"(Burton) is the one who ruined Utah Transit Authority, and now he came over and now he's chairman of the board of trustees," he said. "I told the governor last night, 'Can't you pick somebody in this state who is pro-cancer (research) and who is willing to make Utah stand tall and strong?'"
Huntsman told KSL this week that a $250 million donation from the Huntsman Cancer Foundation, to be distributed over eight years, was actively being negotiated on the same day Beckerle was fired.
"At the very moment, (Pershing) was negotiating with us and telling us, 'Oh, we're so excited for the next eight years,'" he told Wright on Friday. "And (saying), 'We'd like the director of (Huntsman) Cancer Institute to report directly to me. … It's a large enough institute to report directly to me because it's a large enough institute that she should have that authority by now.' We were just in that discussion when the word came to us."
Beckerle served as director and CEO of the institute for 11 years. Kathleen Cooney, chairwoman of the Department of Internal Medicine, was named interim director of Huntsman Cancer Institute earlier this week. No details about finding a permanent replacement for Beckerle have been released.
About 100 protesters — among them researchers, students and patients — delivered a letter to Pershing's office Monday, demanding an explanation for Beckerle's firing. By Friday afternoon, more than 2,100 people had signed an online petition on change.org calling for her to be reinstated.https://beacon.deseretconnect.com/be...&pid=4¬rack
http://www.ksl.com/?sid=43950798&nid=148&title=angry-jon-huntsman-sr-calls-for-ousting-of-u-president
Angry Jon Huntsman Sr. calls for ousting of U. president
Dr. Vivian Lee resigns post at U. Health Care
SALT LAKE CITY — Dr. Vivian Lee, the CEO of University of Utah Health Care who was at the center of a heated controversy for the firing of the Huntsman Cancer Institute director last week, resigned Friday.
"In a more private way, it is fair to say that some of the strong invective directed at my integrity and character, which was carried in the news media over the past two weeks, has been disturbing, especially to the younger members of our family in this close-knit community in Utah we have come to call home," Lee said in an email to University of Utah Health Care employees. "I am hoping my decision today will help in putting that completely in the past."
Lee detailed her accomplishments, which also included a role as senior vice president for health sciences at the U. and dean of the medical school there, but said the move was the right thing to do. She is resigning all positions.
"I have worked as hard as I could to carry forward the mission of our entire health sciences community and of the university," Lee wrote. "Taking account of the events of the last two weeks, I believe the best interests of the University are now served by the decision I am taking today."
Earlier Friday, a Huntsman Cancer Foundation executive blamed a faulty written analysis of Huntsman Cancer Institute's ability to attract grants from the National Institutes of Health as a factor in the firing of institute CEO Mary Beckerle.
Susan Sheehan, chief operating officer of the Huntsman Cancer Foundation, told KSL that the report was poorly researched, didn't reflect well on the institute because of erroneous methodology and may have persuaded University of Utah President David Pershing to sign off on Beckerle's firing.
"I do know that Dr. Pershing was given information that showed that Huntsman (Cancer Institute) was underperforming in its competitiveness for (National Institutes of Health)-style grants," Sheehan said. "I think probably that was factored in."
The university thus far has refused to provide a reason for firing Beckerle, saying only that her termination was a personnel issue. Beckerle was later reinstated following a public outcry led by Jon Huntsman Sr., the billionaire founder and namesake of Huntsman Cancer Institute.
Sheehan is the first to comment publicly on the rationale for Beckerle being fired April 17 in an email from Pershing and Lee.
Sheehan said Lee handed her a copy of the grants report in a December meeting that also was attended by Pershing. Sheehan said she was stunned by what was in the report, and she challenged its findings at the time.
"They're actually really up on what they're securing from the (National Institutes of Health)," Sheehan said of the Huntsman Cancer Institute. "They've actually had an increase. I said, 'How are you doing that analysis because I believe things are better than they've ever been.'"
Ashley Bright, spokeswoman for Huntsman Cancer Institute, touted the facility's ability to secure grants in a prepared statement Friday.
“HCI has a strong track record of securing NIH funding for our cancer research, particularly in light of an unpredictable climate for federal funding for research grants,” Bright said.
The institute reported Friday that it had received $37.7 million in grants and contracts from the National Institutes of Health in 2016, and $61.1 million in such grants and contracts overall when accounting for similar sources, such as the American Cancer Society and others. In 2015, the institute received $34.8 million from National Institutes of Health, part of a $55.9 million overall figure.
Statistics for earlier years weren't immediately available.
Sheehan said the analysis employed an "apples to oranges type of analysis" that unfairly portrayed Huntsman Cancer Institute and relied on faulty financial comparisons.
"It was a flawed comparison," she said. "Somebody was comparing the overall big, rolled-up picture of Huntsman (Cancer Institute) compared to one $10 million research project."
Sheehan didn't know who authored the report, but said its findings were not adequately scrutinized by the university. The report was later reviewed by the Huntsman Cancer Foundation, which "learned that the analysis was flawed," she said.
"I think they just didn't get the side of the story from the institute itself," Sheehan said. "That was what was wrong with this whole process. Mary Beckerle never got the chance to present her side of the story, nor did the Huntsman Cancer Foundation. If you don't know what's being said, you don't know how to dispel misunderstandings."
The foundation is an organization that exists to raise money solely for the Huntsman Cancer Institute.
Beckerle's termination, Sheehan said, boiled down to a failure to communicate.
"I think this whole thing could have been averted had there been stronger communication," she said.
Contacted about Sheehan's remarks Friday, U. spokesman Chris Nelson said the university had no comment.
On Tuesday — the day of Beckerle's reinstatement — U. board of trustees Chairman H. David Burton said the executive committee of that board initially supported the decision to fire Beckerle, but added that they reinstated the director and CEO with a new, improved perspective that he called "20/20 hindsight." He also called the process of rehiring her a "learning session for the board."
"The issues, at the moment they were presented to us — we did not have any reason not to support the administration," Burton said.
Burton declined at the time to comment on whether trustees were satisfied with the answers given about Beckerle's initial firing.
Also Tuesday, board of trustees Vice Chairman Phillip Clinger took responsibility for board members who were not on the executive committee not being fully briefed about the decision to fire Beckerle.
"Had I done a better job of communicating the message, we wouldn't have trustees right now feeling that they didn't know the whole story," he said then.
Beckerle's firing and reinstatement have put a microscope on Lee, whom Huntsman called for to be fired last week. Huntsman has since backed off of those demands and said Lee is no longer of concern to him because the university has arranged for Beckerle to begin reporting directly to Pershing.
Huntsman also told the Deseret News that the U. would have lost out on a $250 million donation from Huntsman Cancer Foundation had it not reversed course and reinstated Beckerle.
A few prominent university officials who have been dismissed by Lee have publicly questioned her method of leadership.
Numerous attempts to reach Lee for comment have been unsuccessful, but 13 department chairs and co-chairs released an open letter this week offering their "full and unwavering support" of Lee and praised her for raising federal grant money levels 25 percent since the beginning of her tenure, which started in 2011.
The letter was posted on the petition site change.org and had received more than 900 signatures by Friday afternoon. A comment on that site attributed to Gordon Crabtree, CEO of University of Utah Health Care, censured those who have criticized Lee.
"Who would have thought that demeaning Dr. Lee in the public forum would be considered acceptable behavior by many who chose to 'pile on,'" the comment says. "I have worked with Dr. Lee for many years and consider her one of the brightest and progressive leaders I have ever known."
Pershing also remains fully supportive of Lee, according to multiple university representatives.
https://www.ksl.com/?sid=44043827
