From Peter Deckers: Response to "State of the School" email from UCHC-AAUP

From: Deckers,Peter J.
Sent: Wednesday, November 04, 2009 6:48 PM
To: Deckers,Peter J.
Subject: FW:

 AAUP organizers recently sent an e- mail message(see below) to many members of the faculty that grossly mischaracterized the reasons behind the proposed partnership between UCHC/JDH/UMG and Hartford Health Care. Since there was probably no one more intimately involved in these discussions from their very beginning than I was, I feel compelled to set the record straight. Conveniently completely missing from their propaganda was any mention of the March 2008 Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering (CASE) report commissioned and funded by the state legislature.  The report, in assessing the future direction of the Health Center, called for the health center, its hospital  and schools to partner with other health care providers as a means of achieving lasting financial stability for our clinical enterprise.  Subsequently, UConn issued a detailed ,very specific and thoughtful RFP to determine the level of interest in forming a partnership.  One and only one comprehensive proposal was received that expressed any interest in forming a partnership that included the clinical component and assured the financial stability required.  It was submitted by Hartford Health Care and has been widely disseminated for all to openly and honestly review and critique. Their proposal, with significant modifications by our leadership, and with continued CASE supervision as well as legislative and executive branch knowledge and understanding, remains the foundation upon which constructive open conversations continue. When considering the issue of whether to unionize, please consider the source of the so-called “facts” being sent to you. Complete accurate disclosure is always in everyone’s best interest and characterizes  the essence of the professionalism we strive to teach our students.