School of Medicine and Medical Center Resolution

Resolution on the institutional climate within
the UVA School of Medicine and Medical Center

Whereas the UVA Faculty Senate affirms the right of all faculty to raise concerns about their workplace;

Whereas School of Medicine (SOM) faculty have raised concerns about bullying, retaliation, and secrecy in their workplace;

Whereas Senators representing the SOM have detailed the University administration’s awareness of the concerns;

Whereas it is difficult to reconcile President Ryan’s written remarks in support of UVA Health leadership with the actions described by Senators representing the SOM;

Whereas the Board of Visitors has commissioned an investigation into these matters;

Whereas the Senate is disappointed that University administration did not fully utilize the Senate’s role in shared governance in decision-making regarding how to investigate and remediate concerns in the SOM and Medical Center (MC);

Be it resolved that the UVA Faculty Senate:

1. affirms its support of SOM faculty;

2. understands the stated scope of the investigation to include 1) clinical care, 2) retaliatory behavior (including bullying, intimidation, threats, and retribution), and 3) spending and financial concerns, and the impacts of these on patients, faculty, staff, trainees and students at the SOM and MC;

3. encourages the investigation to also include review of all allegations of efforts to silence SOM faculty complaints and delay awareness of institutional climate concerns;

4. recognizes the voluntary nature of participation in this investigation, encourages members of the SOM and MC community to participate, and requests resources for them to be able to retain their own counsel during participation, if desired;

5. calls for the Audit, Compliance and Risk Committee of the Board of Visitors to commit to the timely public release of the report of the investigation with anonymity and redactions as required by law; and

6. calls for Senate and other peer-elected faculty involvement in decision-making regarding how to proceed based on the report.