This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The Apr. 20 article on Terry Tempest Williams recalled to mind how the U. of U. forced out this distinguished author/teacher last year in what appeared to be irreconcilable differences with her environmentalist views and/or retaliation for the fact she and her husband had the temerity to bid and win a BLM oil lease outside Arches to prevent development, practically an act of heresy in today's Utah. The U. said she was "paid too much for too little work" and later gave the lame excuse that her outdoor classes were a liability (as if the U.'s attorneys couldn't come up with a liability release form). Williams has gone on to teach at a couple of second-class Ivy League schools, namely Dartmouth and Harvard. Great move U. of U.
I mention the above because it bears similarity to the firing of Mary Beckerle, CEO of the Huntsman Cancer Institute. Both are highly regarded in their fields and recipients of many honors; Tempest a Guggenheim Fellow, Beckerle the recipient of the Rossenblatt Prize, and herself a Guggenheim Fellow. Also, Tempest held the Annie Clark Tanner endowed chair, and Beckerle the Jon M. Huntsman Presidential Endowed Chair and neither Huntsman nor Carolyn Tanner Irish were given the courtesy of any advance notice.
In the case of Tempest, a $50,000 endowment was lost and, in the case of Beckerle, a $130 million endowment was in question.
Neither the Tempest or Beckerle removals were handled in a professional manner — lower level staff handling Tempest, and Beckerle notified by email; a classy move, U. None of the senior management of the U. had the guts to give the news face to face in either case.
Were politics at work with Beckerle? She was recognized by Democratic Vice President Joe Biden for the Cancer Moonshot program, oh my, oh my. Or was this some fallout surrounding the controversial Soon-Shiong donation to the U.? No one knows but the U., and they 'ain't talkin'.
Maybe the next endowed chair at the U. should be in ethics.
David Atkinson
Salt Lake City