1. Introductory Remarks.


Medical Faculty Assembly President Kaslow called the meeting to order and offered some introductory remarks regarding the purpose of the school, and the role of faculty in governance. Regarding the school's purpose, President Kaslow pointed out that the Academic Senate, on May 4, 1998, proposed that the following statement be included in the Faculty Handbook of the University:

"The University of Southern California exists for the common good, and not to further the interest of solely the individual faculty member or the institution as a whole. The common good depends upon the free search for truth and its free exposition."

Applying this thought to the School of Medicine suggests that the School of Medicine exists to advance the free search for truth and its free exposition particularly in the field of medicine.

How can this advance and exposition of truth be accomplished? In its School of Medicine, the University has created a community of medical scholars, which sustains scholarship in part by providing education and service.

How is such a community to be governed? President Kaslow suggested that part of the answer to this question could be found in a statement from William H. Danforth, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Washington University, St. Louis (from Science, Vol 22 September 1995):

"Some in business foresee a work force with loose, and even temporary, ties to organizations. Universities spring from a different culture. Faculty are citizens of their institutions as well as employees, citizens who deserve loyalty of the institution even as the institution asks for theirs.

"Whether universities adapt successfully to the present environment will, in my view, depend on whether individual faculty members correctly read the needs of the era and take personal responsibility for the success of their institutions. I can think of nothing more important or rewarding than to help preserve our research universities for the next generation so that they may continue to represent the highest aspirations of the American people."

Dr. Kaslow suggested that the personal responsibility of faculty is not limited just to teaching, research, or the delivery of clinical care, but extends to governance. He urged the faculty to participate, and the administration to embrace that participation. He suggested that that nothing was more important or more rewarding than participation in governance to help preserve the School.

School of Medicine Dean Ryan then made introductory comments. He thanked the faculty for the recent progress the School of Medicine has made in solving its problems and expressed his optimism for the future. He cited the continued growth of the private practice plans and the success of the University Hospital in attracting patients. The Dean indicated that although there were some financial troubles at the Norris Cancer Hospital, the problems were being confronted.

Dean Ryan then stated that it is an appropriate time to reconsider the School's missions of education, research, and patient care in relation to the changing external environment. Similarly, it is also timely to reexamine our internal structure to determine whether it needs modification. Therefore, the Dean has begun an internal self-study to evaluate progress toward achieving the goals established in the 1993 Strategic Plan. The Dean wishes this self-study to be a broadly-based faculty effort that functions through the departmental structure. He has asked a group of School leaders to evaluate the three areas of the School's mission — education, research and patient care — as well as the support areas of development and organizational structure. This group will be assisted by Associate Deans and others who will serve as staff to these independent efforts. Ron Smith has agreed to chair and coordinate the overall effort.

Documents related to the self-study can be found at the Dean's WWW site.

[The following list of areas, leaders, and staff is from that site.]
 

AREA	LEADER	STAFF
Development	Edward Crandall	William Stone
Education	Donna Elliott	Clive Taylor
Organization	Leslie Bernstein	Fermin Vigil
Patient Care	Vaughn Starnes	Robert Beart, Jeff Huffman, Joseph Van Der Meulen
Research	Peter Jones	Richard Lolley

Dean Ryan reiterated that he welcomes input from all faculty in the self-study.
 
 

2. Issues related to Education.


LCME accreditation report regarding the curriculum.

Senior Associate Dean Clive Taylor discussed the concerns expressed in the LCME report (summary available on the Dean's web page) and discussed corrective actions that are planned or have been taken. The LCME will be returning for a follow-up visit in November 1999.

The Educational Policy Committee (EPC).

President Kaslow explained that the newly-approved Governance Document for the School of Medicine states that departmental appointees to the Educational Policy Committee shall "normally be made in accordance with the recommendations of the faculty." He pointed out that this new phrase puts more responsibility into the hands of the faculty for guiding educational affairs, and that for the school to thrive, faculty must fulfill this responsibility.

The question was then raised from the floor about the relationship between increases in tuition and faculty salary increases. Some tuition increases arise from per cent increases in tuition rates, other tuition increases arise from increased enrollment in existing programs or creation of new programs such as programs awarding Masters Degrees. Dean Ryan stated that recommendations regarding this relationship should come to him after being first considered by the Finance Committee.
 
 

3. Issues related to Clinical Care.


USC and the L.A. County Department of Health.

Dr. Van Der Meulen mentioned that improvements have recently been made in the gross anatomy lab and morgue. He then went on to discuss the status of negotiations over the CPSA. Some "boiler plate" portions of the new agreement are nearing completion, but aspects that are specific for the individual medical schools need more work. The indemnification issue is still under discussion. How to document accountability for work performed is another major issue under discussion and several possible approaches were discussed.

Faculty documentation of clinical activities.

Dr. Van Der Meulen stressed the need for good compliance by faculty in filling out the necessary forms to document clinical services provided. Some faculty expressed the concern that the infrastructure to support this effort was not in place.

A question from the floor was asked as whether there were plans to advertise the county health care services to increase patient volume. Further discussion of this issue led to a discussion of the re-engineering efforts in the county. Dr. Heseltine asked whether the Administration intended to ask the faculty to vote on whether to accept a proposed new CPSA. Dr. Van Der Meulen said that such a vote was not planned or anticipated, but that faculty input was welcome and would be sought.
 
 

4. Issues related to Governance.


The Governance Document and the Joint Task Force regarding Governance.

Senior Associate Dean Leslie Bernstein stated that the Board of Trustees would consider at their meeting later this month the new Governance Document recently approved by the MFA, the FEC, and the faculty of the School. Dr. Bernstein stated that she hoped the new Joint Task Force on Governance would review the academic Personnel Policy document of the School as one of its activities. President Kaslow indicated that the MFA Bylaws also needed revision.

Dr. Bernstein went on to stress the importance of the physician time surveys and the need for faculty to turn these forms in promptly. She also reported on several other activities of her office, including the recently appointed task force on faculty mentoring, an orientation program for new faculty, and planned workshops on the appointment and promotion process. She reported that an annual report of accomplishments of the School of Medicine is planned. Finally, she asked faculty to consider making nominations of colleagues from the School of Medicine for University awards.
 
 

5. Issues related to Faculty Compensation.


Issuance of contract documents to faculty.

Senior Associate Dean Bernstein stated that her office is working on completing the faculty contracts and hopes to have them out soon.
 
 

6. Issues related to Research

President Kaslow opened the discussion by pointing out that a summary of the 1993 Strategic Plan listed proposed funding of several initiatives, some of which involved research. The summary showed:
 
 

Dr. Kaslow then invited Associate Dean of Research Lolley to comment on issues involving research. Dean Lolley reported that progress has been made in the graduate and M.D./Ph.D. programs, including a joint program with Cal Tech. He reported that total research grant support to the School has increased substantially over the last 4 years. He indicated that the self-study would review the 1993 Strategic Plan, noting what had and had not been accomplished, and that if needed, adjustments to the Strategic Plan would be recommended.

The meeting was then adjourned.