During the annual meeting of the Arizona Medical Association, the House of Delegates, the voting body of ArMA, considered and passed a resolution: “Critical Issues Facing Arizona Medical Education.” The resolution was in response to a series of concerns raised by the resignation of six senior-level deans of the University of Arizona (U of A) College of Medicine, Phoenix including; the Dean, the Vice Dean of Academic Affairs, the Associate Dean of Student Affairs, the Associate Dean of Admissions and Recruitment and Interim Director of Diversity and Inclusion, the Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs, and the Deputy Dean of Finance and Administration.
The group says the resignations are “a significant loss to the medical school and to the state of Arizona.”
ArMA’s House of Delegates approved a vote of no confidence in the executive leadership of the U of A or the Health Sciences leadership of the U of A in their oversight of the U of A College of Medicine, Phoenix. ArMA claimed that “recent events surrounding U of A College of Medicine, Phoenix, including concerns over accreditation and the dean’s authority – and now these resignations – have caused serious concerns regarding possible organizational and
policy issues negatively effecting the medical school and which may also have deleterious effects on the U of A
College of Medicine, Tucson.”
ArMA urged the Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) to immediately conduct an independent investigation into the departure of the Senior Leadership Team from the U of A College of Medicine, Phoenix.
The want the investigation to “examine the events and issues that led to the departures of the Senior Leadership
Team from the U of A College of Medicine, Phoenix, and any U of A organizational impediments or policies that contributed to the departures of the well-respected and quality team that was in place.”
ArMA President Gretchen Alexander, MD, stated “ArMA is committed to the excellence of medical education in our state, and has been an active supporter of both University of Arizona Medical schools. We view the College of Medicine, Phoenix as an extraordinary medical school. Our Association must do everything possible to ensure the school maintains this success.”