Two departments oppose College of Medicine, one more may be on the way
The department of journalism voted unanimously last Friday to oppose the College of Medicine if revenue from existing academic programs are being used to finance it.
Journalism Department Chairwoman Maria Marron said in an email the department does not oppose CMED if it is funded from independent resources or some other means.
“However, there is no indication so far that CMU has obtained significant resources for the medical school,” she said.
The department of earth and atmospheric sciences has taken a similar vote, according to posts on the Central Michigan University Faculty Association Facebook page Tuesday by Geology and Meteorology Professor Kathleen Benison.
She could not be reached in time for publication.
Western Michigan University reportedly received a gift of $100 million this year for the medical school it is building, but there have been no announcements about similar gifts at CMU, Marron said.
She said Michigan State University’s medical school already provides the programs and serves the communities CMED would serve, and this is a diversion of resources that is “unwise and unfair” to CMU students, faculty and other groups.
Marron said journalism and other faculty across campus have several concerns about CMED, and money is a key issue. She said concerns include funding for building and sustaining the medical school, whether the quality of existing programs will be diluted because CMU cannot afford a medical school and quality academic programs. She is also concerned as to whether tuition dollars will support the medical school as opposed to academic programs in which students are enrolled.
She said the department is also worried about how CMED faculty will be treated compared to other CMU faculty and whether CMED faculty will be members of the FA.
Marron said she believes the university has diverted millions of dollars from student tuition and fees away from academic programs that benefit students and into accumulating $276 million in unrestricted assets. She said an accreditation requirement for programs to have five years of operating costs available is a factor that most likely explains the accumulation of assets.
“CMU’s unrestricted assets represent money that should be used, at least in part, to support existing academic programs, students, faculty and other employee groups,” she said. “Instead, faculty are still working without a contract.”
Marron said faculty promotions earned under the 2008-2011 contract have not been honored, and employee groups have taken zero-percent pay adjustments “at a time when their employer can afford to do better by them.”
The department of political science plans to vote on the matter Nov. 10, according to posts Tuesday on the FA Facebook page by Political Science Department Chairman Orlando Perez.
Howerver, Perez said in an email he could not comment on the agenda for that meeting because it has yet to be fully decided or distributed to the faculty.
Perez said he personally has “grave concerns” about CMED, but he did notcomment further.
The Liaison Committee on Medical Education accreditation team will visit campus Nov. 13 through 16.
