EDITORIAL: College of Medicine needs to end runaround, get facts straight


In the Jan. 31 editorial, the resignation of Dr. Nehad El-Sawi, associate dean of the College of Medicine, was said to be no reason to worry for the future of CMU’s College of Medicine. But an e-mail sent to students Tuesday prompts one to say otherwise.

The e-mail sent out to all CMU students by President George Ross said the opening of the college has been deferred from fall 2012 to fall 2013.  And this is a reason to worry.

The Liaison Committee on Medical Education, the accrediting body for medical schools, requires four associate dean positions to be filled; when El-Sawi resigned as the associate dean of medical education and faculty development, CMU was missing a major requirement for accreditation.

Administrators such as College of Medicine founding dean Dr. Earnest Yoder, said hiring and accreditation would not be affected. While Provost Gary Shapiro has said El-Sawi's departure had no affect on the decision to defer the opening — the second time it has been deferred a year — the loss of the dean that handles curriculum and hiring likely did not help.

And they told everyone not to worry.

Meanwhile, until the College of Medicine opens, Yoder and the remaining three associate deans will still receive their annual salaries, which total to $1.17 million yearly. When they bring in a new associate dean of medical education and faculty development, that dean will receive his or her salary as well, and El-Sawi is receiving partial salary and severance pay totaling $238,691.76.

All this money is being paid to the deans, not to mention the cost of building the facilities, while there is no tuition being brought in by medical students, because there will be none until 2013.

When did they know they would not be ready to apply for accreditation, when did they decide to officially defer the opening and what, specifically, was the reason? As of this writing, these questions have not been specifically answered.

Especially concerning is that this isn't the first time plans have changed suddenly and dramatically. University administrators owe its constituents an explanation as to why they're paying thousands of dollars in tuition money to help fund a project, for which they have such lofty goals.

It's clear now more than ever that the university bit off more than it can chew, and it has already broken one promise to welcome students in 2012.

At this point, the College of Medicine cannot afford any more missteps or deferrals. The deans and the administration need to go through their plan for the next two years with a fine-toothed comb.

CMU is bleeding millions of dollars into this College of Medicine experiment, and every little stumble is costing the university — and ultimately students and taxpayers — millions more.

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