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Power Struggle at Huntsman Cancer Institute in Utah

posted by martyb on Monday April 24 2017, @10:48AM   Printer-friendly
from the follow-the-money? dept.

takyon writes:

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/04/power-struggle-erupts-utah-cancer-institute-over-director-s-firing

The abrupt dismissal of the head of a Utah cancer center is causing backlash from its faculty—and its major philanthropic funder—in a struggle over the center's autonomy from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. And nearly 2000 researchers have signed a petition calling on the university to reverse its decision.

For 11 years, prominent cell biologist Mary Beckerle has headed the Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI), which is based at the university but receives its funding largely from philanthropic donations, revenue from its cancer hospital, and grants from state and from the National institutes of Health. In an email to some clinical staff on Monday, university President David Pershing and Vivian Lee, senior vice president for health sciences, announced that Beckerle would step down "effective yesterday," but would "remain on faculty as a distinguished professor in biology." Beckerle, who has not responded to Science's request for comment, told The Salt Lake Tribune that she had learned of her dismissal in an email less than an hour earlier.

Details have been scant from the university, which also did not respond to a comment request. But Beckerle's colleagues contend that the move amounts to a hostile takeover by the university aimed at capturing the cancer clinic's revenue, and other prominent scientists are rallying unquestioningly around her.

Also at Deseret News. Change.org petition. University of Utah Health press release.

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  • (Score: 2) by Geezer on Monday April 24 2017, @04:41PM (1 child)

    by Geezer (511) on Monday April 24 2017, @04:41PM (#498933)

    That's because powerful people are normally psychopaths, or at least display sociopathic behavior as part of their power-acquisition toolkit. Psychopathy is the norm of power.

    Name one Fortune 500 CEO or first-world head of state that can't be demonstrated conclusively to be a douchebag sociopath and I'll send you a case of your favorite cold ones. :)

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  • (Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday April 25 2017, @04:09PM

    by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday April 25 2017, @04:09PM (#499353) Journal
    So psychopathy is merely powerful people? I don't see the point of using the label. Earlier, kaszz referred to a "delayed gratification" test. But what's the point of such a test when near instant gratification is a reasonable expectation of power?

    Name one Fortune 500 CEO or first-world head of state that can't be demonstrated conclusively to be a douchebag sociopath and I'll send you a case of your favorite cold ones.

    Well, who isn't a douchebag sociopath under those circumstances in the first place? We need a null hypothesis or we don't have a case to make.