More and more, it is looking like the idea of a medical school for Missouri Southern State University is about to be shot down.
All indications from reading Kansas City media reports concerning the firing of Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences Karen Pletz indicate that the idea of that school having a campus in Joplin appeared to be something worked out clandestinely by Ms. Pletz and and either MSSU President Bruce Speck or Speck's Geppetto, board member Dwight Douglas.
The latest evidence comes from an interview with interim KCUMB President Dr. Danny Weaver in today's Kansas City Business Journal:
What is the status of the project with Missouri Southern State University?
I’m going down to meet with the president of Missouri Southern State University (Jan. 13), and that is just to get a better understanding of the whole affiliation process and whether we move forward or not. I really have to look into the whole thing before we make any decisions.
I’m not certain when the first discussions between President Pletz and (Missouri Southern President Bruce Speck) occurred, and I’m going to find that out (Jan. 13).
Do you feel as though the board was adequately informed about those discussions?
I couldn’t answer that until I get all the information with regards to what has transpired up to now with the Missouri Southern affiliation.
It appears Dr. Pletz may have been fired for going rogue and not keeping the board informed.
As for Missouri Southern, it appears the merry-go-round shows no signs of slowing down.
23 comments:
The darkest hour ever for Missouri Southern State University occurred when Nodler got Dwight Douglas appointed to the Board.
This little egotistical man has done irreparable damage to our college.
He should resign.
There will be no medical school.
Randy - you seem pleased to think there may not be a med school at Southern? Why on earth would anyone feel that way?
No matter how you feel about personalities involved, how about thinking of the good things this could mean to the area and especially to area young people who dream of med school but find it just out of reach..
How petty to feel this way.
Hmmm, all the accounts of the firing that I read said it was about a proposal from President Pletz to establish a joint MD/DO program, one that would devalue a DO and perhaps lead to an end of osteopathy altogether and therefore anathema.
Of course there are communications problems with the board, otherwise Pletz wouldn't have done something that would rather obviously get her fired (would that there be something Speck could do that would get him fired by his board!) But it sounds to me like the board is stepping back and just not willing to commit to anything until e.g. they get a new president. They've got their own mess to clean up before they can consider anything like the expansion to MSSU.
Will someone please file a complaint with the Missouri Ethics Commission regarding Dwight Douglas's violation of the conflict of interest laws? I would do it myself, but my wife is an MSSU employee and we all know how Dr. Speck likes to retaliate against those who oppose him. Douglas is chairing the MSSU steering committee to bring the medical school to the MSSU campus and he's also Freeman Hospital's attorney. Who would stand to benefit most from a medical school in Joplin? Freeman, that's who! It's also interesting to note that St. John's isn't playing any role at all in the medical school project.
Anyone else smell a rat in attorney's clothing?
Conflict of interest? What's that? Such things have never bothered Dwight Douglas.He claims contributors have not backed away... and that 2.5 million have been committed toward the building. How much is Freeman committing? How much Freeman doctors and board? Maybe the Medical School should be on Freeman Hospital grounds. That's all the KC school seems to need. Every time the Globe reports on the agreement we are told that, in exchange for the building rental, MSSU will get "reasonable reinbursement" and naming rights to the building. That's it. The KC school will do the rest: teaching, programs, faculty, administration, support. What does MSSU get? Indeed, what do our own students get? Will our students be automatically admitted to medical school? Nothing has ever been said about that, and the Globe has never asked the question... MSSU is just going to be a landlord... And our school is just doing the bidding of Douglas and Freeman Hospital... Bruce and Douglas questioned (and destroyed) the international mission which is written into law. Instead they are now pushing for a medical school that is never remotely mentioned in the mission of our school. So we have a board that is spending valuable time and energy on a medical school that is not part of our mission, and in the meantime our students suffer from Douglas-inflicted policies regarding hiring of faculty. Right now, our students are suffering from dealing with uncommitted, I-don't-care, one-year-appointment, teachers.
We can't wait for Douglas and Bruce to be gone for good from this campus.
Wrong about Pletz firing and St. John's not being part of the process. Pletz was fired for surreptitiously promoting a combination DO/MD program, not for trying to set up a KCUMB branch in Joplin, which was promoted quite openly. Also, St. John's was not formally a player early on in the process because they were undergoing a change in ownership -- they also, are enthused about a DO school here. Lastly, I, too, am disenchanted with people who delight in seeing others negatively affected and would like to see the DO program fail here. However, I am quite optimistic that it will happen -- there are too many pluses and very few minuses to the program.
What does MSSU and its students receive for having the DO school located here? I'll tell you what we get. First, a number of our students WILL receive automatic admission to the DO school without the hurdle of the MCAT exam. Second, MSSU obtains the resource of KCUMB faculty being on our campus, and the opportunities for our faculty to hold joint appointments, which will further their academic knowlege. Additionally, an influx of highly qualified undergrads will occur (to a certain extent, it already has) and these students will take ALL of their prereqs to med school, not just science courses, at MSSU, so it will strengthen the overall academic quality of our students. This would definitely be a win-win for MSSU. And by the way, just because something is not part of the MSSU "international mission" does NOT mean it is not worth pursuing as there are any number of programs on campus that are not international in nature.
11:45 AM:
If a number of our students will get accepted automatically that will be great. But, what is the number? How many students? Since you have such good information, what number out of the projected entering classes? Is it in the agreement? If it is, what does the agreement specifically say? Why hasn't the Globe ever reported that fact? Perhaps Bruce should be making that very clear.
True about the mission part. But it sure would be nice if Bruce, the Board, and Douglas spent as much effort on the "given" international mission instead of trying to diminish its importance and trying to smear the reputation of those involved with it on campus.
It's absurd, and it almost borders on bizarre, that MSSU's Board of Governors would approve hiring an architect and spending $250,000 (that the Foundation had to borrow, no less) for a project that the KCUMB Board of Directors has yet to approve. Why on earth didn't Douglas and Speck make sure that the KCUMB Board of Directors had blessed the project before going so far down the road? When the project goes belly-up, is Douglas going to personally refund the quarter of a million dollars to the foundation?
Serious questions, Bruce and Dwight.
Any answers?
No answers Bruce?...
It would have been prudent for Douglas and Rod Anderson to have had a conversation with their counterparts on the KCUMB board. Board-to-board communication is certainly appropriate, even expected. Why were Douglas and Anderson asleep at the switch?
The number of our students to be automatically admitted to the new med school has not been determined, and since there is no formal agreement, how could that number be there? I personally asked the question of how many of our students would be admitted at a faculty/KCUMB meeting back in October, and was told that for some schools the number is only 2, but for us it would be higher. I also personally spoke with a Globe reporter (Grisolano) after that meeting, so the Globe heard that exchange, but failed to report it. I teach at MSSU, and have NOT heard the administration personally insult or attack anyone associated with the international mission, so if you have facts about that, what are they??
No matter how many of "our" students are guaranteed entry into the program, having the program here is extremely good....Those who come here to attend are good for us....it's good when students no matter where they come from get a chance to study and go into medicine...we sure need more doctors and I say we should be happy when any youngster goes to med school...
I don't know why some are linking this to the international program....if I had to choose between the two, I would far and away support the medical school...with money or anything else I could do or give...
and I learned long ago that seed planted in terms of ground work such as vision plans, make a big difference when the final decisions are made...I approve of doing this ground work now...it shows commitment and foresight...it's a good and important investment...
I learned this the hard way and I am better for the lesson I learned about planting some seed early even if the seed and prep work cost money.
I read this someplace else and it's certainly true: Everything Dr. Speck touches turns to muck. Indoor football practice facility, for starters. I can't think of a single achievement Dr. Speck can take credit for, just many PR disasters along the way.
Of course having a med school will be good. Still the fact is that developing and/or having a professional school like this one is not part of MSSU mission. International education IS. The point is not that we should not pursue new avenues, and maybe even create our own new avenues. The point is that Bruce and Douglas, and the administration have done everything possible to diminish the importance of the main mission, while going after new goals. And that does not make much sense. They should be working hard FOR BOTH. Everybody knows that Bruce, the board and the administration chose to fight the no-confidence vote by portraying the faculty as lazy, complaining, tourists taking advantage of the taxpayer's dollars. So don't tell me this administration has not attacked those associated with the international mission.
Yes, we have a very good premed program and the med school would be good for it, but still, all we have heard has to do with an agreement to become a landlord for the KC school. If there is not yet a formal agreement and because of that the number of MSSU students cannot be specified, ,then WHY ON EARTH ARE BRUCE AND DOUGLAS BORROWING 250000 DOLLARS FROM THE FOUNDATION AND ENGAGING A KC ARCHITECT?
Yes, the Med school would be good, but the fact that the number of MSSU students to be guaranteed admission has not been prominently promoted makes this whole thing smell bad...
Jay needs to appoint Julio to the board. That'd make things interesting.
12:21 makes some good points. MSSU would just be the landlord, and we have no idea how much "reasonable reimbursement" rent we would collect from KCUMB. What if KCUMB decided to low-ball us on the rent? What if they wanted to admit only two MSSU graduates every year? What if they didn't want to use any MSSU faculty to teach their courses?
All this needs to spelled out now, in a contract, before we raise or spend any more money. Douglas is always preaching to take care of "due diligence." Seems he's forgotten his own advice.
12:21 is right and 11:45 is wrong. There should be a set number of seats in a class guaranteed for MSSU graduates, BUT the MSSU students SHOULD take the MCAT like everyone else. If they score reasonably, then they should take one of seats reserved for MSSU. If Not, they should not.
The med school will be good for Southern students if there is a quota.
some of you continue to harp on about international education is part of the school's mission....
I don't know when this became the school's "mission," but is it possible that a school's "mission" can change....have you heard of change...what was good once may change over time and not be good any more....
Most people don't like change, especially if it's gores their ox, but change is part of life - human and institutional...
How about a new mission...maybe, dare I say, a mission to educate doctors in a world that needs them.
Let me just put it plainly....it's time to upgrade and change the mission...time to move on and forward and drop this infatuation with going abroad...for whatever reason.
Amen .. to changing the mission....school after school does this...many schools are involved in "alternative energy," or "increasing food supply," or "conserving water" or something similar...many of these mission are relatively new...as times change so should missions...
MSSU needs to change with the times as well
Yes, MSSU should change its mission. No need to give students a vision of what the world is like or how to survive in a global economy. That may have been important yesterday, but surely in the future no one will ever want to leave Southwest Missouri or get involved in any type of international business. Let's just circle the wagons, put on our blindfolds, and open a beer.
I must respond to the comments of 11:39 by the advocate of the OD school at any price.
First, I categorically refute the bogus assertion that MSSU students will get any kind of preference in being accepted to the med school. The leaders of the med school, asked that question outright, replied no more than 1 or 2 a year would get to waive any part of the application process. As for MSSU faculty teaching at the med school, there again perhaps one or two -- probably no one in art, English, engineering, physics, criminal justice, ...
As for bringing new students to MSSU, for Pete's sake, what are you thinking? The caliber of students accepted for med school are scholarship students in undergraduate school, all the way! If we don't give them a free ride, someone else surely will; so if they come here at all they will bring no additional revenue with them. Then, of course, they'll be disappointed when no more than 1 or 2 get into the med school.
The whole thing is a great idea for the Joplin area, truly it is. But for MSSU? It's just a feather in Douglas' cap, and a distraction from Speck's dreadful lack of vision and leadership.
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