Minutes of the Council Meetings >>

SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
SPEAKER’S MEETING
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2003
S U M M A R Y

I. FACULTY CLUB UPDATE

Dr. Lewis reiterated that the School Faculty Council had worked on establishing a Faculty Club for several years. He stated that Dr. Clarkson endorsed the Council’s plan and a site for the Faculty Club had been determined. Dr. Lewis reported that Dr. Barry Materson was disturbed upon learning of the location approved for the Faculty Club. Dr. Materson believed that the space had been allocated for medical billing operations instead. Dr. Lewis emphasized that the Council followed the proper process for creating the Faculty Club and in acquiring the location. He stressed that Dr. Clarkson, President Shalala and Ron Bogue approved the site for the Faculty Club. Dr. Lewis stated that Dr. Clarkson would clarify this issue with Dr. Materson. Dr. Thurer added that President Shalala planned to announce the $1M gift from Mr. Frost in support of the Faculty Club soon. Drs. Lewis, Thurer and Mian will meet with Au Bon Pain management to discuss catering arrangement for the Faculty Club.

II. COUNCIL PROJECT FOR CAPITAL CAMPAIGN-STUDENT SCHOLARSHIP

Dr. Lewis announced that the Capital Campaign had been officially launched last week. He reiterated that the Council previously discussed with Dr. Clarkson possible endeavors, which the Council could undertake in support the Capital Campaign. He noted that earlier reports from Dr. Hinkley showed a poor representation of minority students at the medical school. The Council favored the concept of offering student scholarships to minorities as a means of supporting the Capital Campaign.

Cynthia Augustyn discussed the legal constraints in awarding of scholarships to minorities. She briefly summarized two recent cases from the Supreme Court involving the University of Michigan and their admission criteria for minorities. Ms. Augustyn explained that underrepresentation of minorities could not be used as a criterion for admission to medical school but race was a factor. She also noted school scholarship funds could not be directed to one particular race or underrepresented minority group. The Council raised the question whether a private individual or enterprise could award scholarships directed to a specific minority group or race. Ms. Augustyn answered that a foundation could administer a scholarship program as long as the school was not managing the funds or selecting the recipients. She reported that the issue concerning race directed scholarships in medical schools was being contested.

The Council discussed the issue of financial need as a factor in determining scholarships. Dr. Hinkley explained the complexities involved in accessing financial need specifically for independent students who no longer relied on their parents for financial support. Dr. Mian noted that the average age of medical students was 24 and many of these students were financially independent. He stated that most professional schools used the need for diversity as a factor in awarding scholarships since costs for higher education was extremely expensive and financial need was widespread. Dr. Thurer suggested that the Council focus their efforts primarily on ways to procure contributions instead of attempting to micromanage the scholarship program. Dr. Markoe suggested that a scholarship program, which targeted eligible students from South Florida would be a valuable tool for recruitment. He believed that a competitive basis to award scholarships would eliminate the question of race and origin. Dr. Hinkley recognized that scholarship money was currently utilized in the recruitment of the best-qualified students. He reported that this year 35 out-of-state students, largely from UCLA, had been admitted and 26 were awarded partial scholarships as a way of reducing their tuition. After being surveyed, most of these students reported that the partial scholarship was a primary incentive for coming to UMSM.

Dr. Awad expressed his concern in the ongoing reduction of minorities at the medical school. Dr. Hinkley reported that only 4 Afro-American students had been accepted in 2003 whereas these figures reached 10 to 14 in prior years. Dr. Awad believed that the Council scholarship program should be focused on awarding financial support to minority groups. Dr. Mack favored the idea of establishing a foundation to manage the scholarship program and suggested that the criteria for reward be based on the geography of the city from which the recipient resided. He proposed that the scholarship program target economically deprived areas and thereby exclude factors based on race or origin. Dr. Mack agreed to provide the Council with relevant data and Ms. Augustyn agreed to report on the legality of geographically based scholarships. The Council will use the information to formulate the criteria for student scholarships at the medical school.

Dr. Lewis asked for suggestions on ways to procure funds specifically for student scholarships. Dr. Thurer proposed that alumni donations to the medical school be directed to student scholarships. He felt that the faculty could provide the initial funding and then establish long-term goals for alumni contributions. Dr. Lewis suggested that medical students be involved in formulating the scholarship program in order to promote the concept of student scholarship-directed contribution by alumni. Dr. Sipski suggested holding an event to promote the Council project for student scholarships. Dr. Lokeshwar felt the event should be held at the opening of the faculty club. The Council further discussed the idea of such an event and also suggested hosting it at President Shalala’s house. The Council will finalize these ideas at upcoming Speaker’s meetings.