Spoiler Alert: Its not really about African-American representation on the Board of Trustees.

The chaotic goings-on within in the administration and Board of Trustees of the University of Louisville (and therefore also it’s academic medical center) increasingly resemble the plot of a television soap opera.  In the setting of a succession of embarrassing external audits, criminal convictions, and a revolving door of questionable executive and lower-level hiring and firings; the senior executives of both the University itself and the Medical Center are struggling to keep their jobs.  The former wants to manipulate the composition of the University Board of Trustees in his favor, and the latter is under investigation by the FBI and has not been heard of for weeks.  I am not alone calling for resignations.  It appears that the opportunity for face-saving transitions has passed.

Continue reading “University of Louisville’s Homegrown Soap Opera.”

The John H. Schnatter Center for Free Enterprise at the University of Louisville College of Business is up and running.  Last fall, when the enabling grants to the University of Louisville Foundation by the Charles Koch Foundation and the John H. Schnatter Family Foundation were announced, much concern was expressed by faculty and others in the community about the lack of institutional control that was given up to the funding organizations, the shortcuts taken within University governance to sign the agreements, that the University and Foundation were committing themselves to funding elements of the Center even if the Donors withdrew support, and concerning the general concept that the Donors were seeking to purchase academic legitimization of their far-right political philosophy.  These issues were discussed prominently within the local community including by the Center for Investigative Reporting, Insider Louisville, The Courier-Journal, WFPL, WDRB, Business First, and even the Kentucky Health Policy Institute.  The practice of the Koch Foundation funding similar interests in other colleges and Universities has drawn national attention in The Atlantic, Huffington Post, Center for Public Integrity, and others. Following the rollout of the Center, a series of submissions and letters to local media – some from outside the state – brought the matter to my attention again and prompted this follow-up to my earlier articles. Continue reading “Schnatter and Koch Grants to University of Louisville Revisited.”

Things are unraveling more swiftly at the University of Louisville. Against a background of mounting local, state, and even national concern about the ability or appropriateness of President James Ramsey to lead the University; and with more frequently heard rumors that his remaining tenure is numbered in days and weeks; at last week’s Board of Trustees meeting, two Board members withdrew their support of his presidency and the Board Chairman voiced support of decentralizing the leadership of the University and UofL Foundation – a change President Ramsey vigorously opposed. Support from the community demanding that the Board exercise their statutory and community responsibilities to protect our University seemed to actually be having an effect – at least for some Board members.

A life preserver is thrown.
No sooner than it takes to make a phone call to Frankfort, Governor Bevin announced his intention to declare illegitimate the last three or four Board members appointed by his predecessor – which includes the Board’s current Chairperson. He furthermore voiced a request/demand that the Board as a whole cease immediately to do any business until a judicial opinion about the legality of the racial makeup of the board could be determined. This of course might give Gov. Bevin an opportunity to appoint four new Board members of his own – a total of nearly one quarter of the Board’s membership that is subject to his discretion! The Governor’s actions would emasculate the Board, abort potential reforms, thwart demands for accountability, and perpetuate for months a rudderless ship – unless one is content with the way things have been going in recent years. Surely only the most rabid fanboys and those doing business with the University or its associated foundations can be happy with the status quo. Continue reading “Governor Bevin Comes to President Ramsey’s Rescue.”

Prepare yourself for medicine in the post-apocalyptic world!The evolving interface with the medical literature.

They were once one of my most prized possessions, but now I can’t even give them away.  Beginning in 1967 with the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), I began to bind my medical journals. The fact that the practice was begun for me by my late father-in-law only increased my emotional attachment to these physically and intellectually handsome books. As my career progressed, I added all the major general internal medicine and rheumatology journals to my collection. I was on the editorial board of two of these, wrote articles appearing in them, and reviewed countless articles submitted for publication by others.  I carried these books from one institution to another for over 40 years until, following my active medical retirement, they ended up in a Stor-All facility.  As I attempt to further downsize now because I no longer physically have room for them, I discover to my naive surprise and disappointment that no one else wants them.  My current dilemma stems from the fact that I cannot bring myself to throw them away.  Perhaps one of my readers can help me.  Details about the collection can be found at the end of this article. Continue reading “Free Bound Medical Journals.”