Faculty members declare they have no faith in Craig Kent and Melina Kibbe, claiming they have disregarded and repressed misbehavior accusations.
The University’s Board of Visitors was presented with a letter of no confidence this morning, requesting the removal of Craig Kent, the CEO of UVA Health, and Melina Kibbe, the dean of the School of Medicine, a professor of medicine, and the chief health affairs officer. The statement, signed by academic members employed by 128 U.Va. Physicians Group, claims that the two administrators have promoted an atmosphere that jeopardizes patient safety and breeds anxiety among faculty members.
In the letter, Kent and Kibbe are accused of permitting “egregious acts” to take place at U.Va. Health and the School of Medicine. These acts include the hiring of physicians whose work is dubious, harassing residents, spending excessive amounts of money on executives rather than staffing shortages, being opaque about finances, and breaking the Board of Visitors-approved code of ethics.
The letter claims that Melina Kibbe and Craig Kent “have not only directly attacked but also undermined the values that motivated us to work at U.Va. Health and the University of Virginia School of Medicine.”
The letter also claims that even though the alleged issues have been known for a long time and have been regularly documented by faculty, U.Va. Health leaders have fired, disciplined, and silenced those who have complied with reporting requirements. They have even threatened to withhold promotions from those who have spoken out against U.Va. Health leaders have altered and suppressed reports of incidents in which U.Va. Health leaders have abused their positions of authority.
“These issues and heinous crimes were brought to U.Va.’s attention through official reporting channels for more than a year. As a final resort, we sign this letter of no confidence because we urgently care about our patients, coworkers, the community, and the University of Virginia, the letter states.
The professors claim that their capacity to provide proper patient care is compromised by the “ongoing exodus” of talented U.Va. Health staff, which is a result of the climate that Kent and Kibbe have created.
A group of 25 doctors and academics signed a letter of no confidence in 2017, condemning Kent’s work as dean of The Ohio State University College of Medicine before he arrived at the university. The letter claimed that Kent and other executives under Retchin’s leadership, particularly Dr. Sheldon Retchin, had violated the academic objective of the university and fostered a culture of poor morale among faculty members. Retchin was the previous chief executive officer of OSU Wexner Medical Center.
The U.Va. Health Systems has received recognition on a global level. For example, Newsweek named U.Va. Health is the top hospital in Virginia for the year 2024, praising the institution for providing “best-in-class healthcare.” Faculty pay information obtained by The Cavalier Daily through a Freedom of Information Act request also shows that Kibbe makes $829,000 and Kent makes $1.6 million, respectively, making them two of the top-paid officials at the university.
According to Eric Swensen, U.Va. Health’s public relations officer, the university’s leadership is considering faculty members’ concerns further and values employee input.
According to Swensen, “U.Va. Health and our leaders are committed to providing our patients with high-quality care and an excellent work environment for our 1,400 faculty members and 17,000 team members.” “Leadership looks forward to further understanding and addressing concerns that have been expressed by some faculty members. Feedback is an important part of fostering a healthy culture.”
The 128 signatures on the letter of no confidence were reportedly physically acquired from the signatories, and to prevent faculty retaliation, they are currently being kept secret. The letter does, however, specify that the signatories will make arrangements for their signatures to be seen by a restricted audience if the Board requests to view the list of signatures.
Read Also: How Light Pollution is Harming Human Health
This narrative is still evolving. This article will be updated with new information as it becomes available.
