The recent announcement of restructuring in the College of Medicine has surprised and shocked affected faculty members in the College.

The draft discussion paper, titled “Academic Reorganization and Administrative Alignment in the College of Medicine”, which proposes dramatic changes, is being rushed to University Council on May 17, 2012, in the final months of the terms of the current President and Dean of Medicine. Incredibly, the Provost refused to present the proposal to the Faculty Council in the College of Medicine, and there was no process of consultation with College of Medicine faculty in the drafting of this restructuring proposal.

The potential restructuring will have drastic implications on the employment of faculty classified as clinician-teachers, as it is proposed that the task of medical education be turned over to community based physicians. There are serious implications for the future delivery of clinical services now performed by our faculty members.

While the faculty members in the College of Medicine are affected by this proposal immediately, the USFA Executive has grave concerns about the lack of respect shown by a “small, elite group of administrators” for the consultative collegial processes of our University. It is incomprehensible that a new model for the delivery of health education would be developed and forwarded to University Council for approval ahead of input or analysis by those who are responsible for the academic mission of the College. It should deeply concern all members of the faculty that our colleagues were completely left out of the critical development phase of this proposal.

Using this type of process, who is next?