CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – UVA Health CEO Craig Kent, MD, is no stranger to no confidence letters.
On the morning of September 5, 2024, a no-confidence letter signed by 128 UVA Physicians Group-employed faculty was received by the University of Virginia Board of Supervisors. In it, the group demanded that Kent and Melina Kibbe, dean of the School of Medicine, be removed. That for allegedly allowing “egregious acts” to occur at UVA Health and the School of Medicine. Among the complaints were hiring doctors with questionable quality of work, subjecting residents to harassment, excessive spending on executives instead of addressing staffing shortages, a lack of transparency on financial matters.
But this is not the first time Kent has faced accusations in a letter of no confidence. In 2017, while Kent was dean of Ohio State University’s College of Medicine, 25 Internal Medicine employees submitted a no confidence letter aimed at OSU’s Wexner Medical Center CEO, Sheldon Retchin. In it, Wexner faculty took issue with Retchin’s divisive leadership style and lack of respect for the academic mission of the hospital or university. Because of it, they said, researchers were leaving due to a culture of hostility toward faculty. The group also alleged that word of the conflict was hurting recruitment.
The 7-page letter also cited Kent, asserting that as dean of the medical college, he had adopted Retchin’s leadership style, resulting in delayed physician hiring and stalled contract renegotiations with existing staff members.
Retchin vehemently denied the allegations, but resigned just days later. Kent remained at Ohio State University’s College of Medicine until 2020, when he became the CEO of UVA Health.
