To: Konrad Miskowicz-Retz
Fm: Concerned student
Dr. Miskowicz-Retz,
I am sending you this information per our conversation last week Friday regarding the state of affairs at KCOM and the way that students are being treated. I would like to say that there are many other cases for which I could not get information about, or letters from the interested parties due to fear of retribution from the administration. Within this document you will find a compilation of statements from all four class years about their impressions and issues that they have had to deal with. You will find police reports that support what I mentioned about students that are still in school that should not be. You will also find the personal statements of the students that perpetrated these acts. The most recent case of a second year (fifth yeared) student threatening another with a loaded 9mm, I do not have a police report. However, I will assure you that the incident did occur. If it becomes necessary I will try to attain a personal statement from the student that was threatened. You will also find a breakdown of possible violations by KCOM regarding accreditation.
Some fact statements:
1) Students were told that they could not voice any of their grievances about the current situation at KCOM to any outside sources. This includes the AOA, KOAA, Newspapers, TV, or any other body outside of KCOM. Dean Gaber several weeks ago put a letter in student mail boxes stating that any deviation from the current grievance procedure would not be tolerated. When other students and I questioned him about the letter, he stated that because this was a private institution KCOM had the right to prevent students from talking to outside sources about issues internal to KCOM. He also stated that students had no rights because KCOM is a private school. However, with several weeks of research I finally contacted the USDE Civil Right section in Kansas City, MO and was told by them that KCOM had no such right to suppress the voice of students. Furthermore, they said that any action taken against a student that made any non-slanderous statement would be grounds for a lawsuit and investigation by the Civil Rights Dept. Point of fact…(name deleted-wm) of the class of 2002 has been put on behavioral probation because of his involvement in the unrest at KCOM. When I approached Dean Gaber with this information he informed me that he had never made such statements and that his letter to the class was not intended to prevent us from talking to any outside organizations. He did state that if any conversation was done in a way that he deemed inappropriate that the students would be responsible for any further action taken by the school even if that meant involving the public courts. When questioned about (name deleted) being put on probation he stated that (name deleted) was not on probation. When I told him that (name deleted) had informed me of Dean Gaber putting him on probation he then stated that he could not discuss (name deleted) situation with me but that they were justified in putting him on probation. In effect, Dean Gaber flat out lied to me about the issue. This is the general method by which the KCOM administration has been dealing with students for the last two years and, from what I gather from 3rd and 4th year students, for many years before that. As of the writing of this statement, (student name deleted) has not been given a hard copy of his probation, but has not been told that it was withdrawn. The letter from Dean Gaber is enclosed. Please find it among the many documents.
Statement from (name deleted) as to why he was put on Probation according to Dean Gaber:
Well, after being told I was on behavioral probation for a year and that I would have to receive counseling, I have now been told by Dean Gaber that President McGovern has asked him to withdraw my probation. During my meeting with Dean Gaber, he finally shared with me the reasons I was put on probation. Here are all of the reasons he gave me with my explanations:
When I have discussions with him, I get up and pace around.
In truth, I did get up, but only to leave Dean Gaber's office because our discussion was apparently concluded. The two times this occurred, I was in the process of leaving when Dean Gaber made another comment and I paused to continue the discussion while still standing. I don't pace when I am talking to someone.
During a meeting between students and Dean Kuchera, I disrespectfully walked out of the meeting.
This is the only accusation in which I can accept some blame. During a lengthy meeting in which Dean Kuchera once again attempted to deceive a group of students, he was in the process of an extensive "double-speak" to excuse his actions. I had reached a point of frustration where it would be better for me to leave than open my mouth since it would bring no progress to the meeting. I quietly rose and left the room.
During a meeting between the SGA Executive Council and President McGovern, I spoke to Dr. McGovern in a disrespectful manner.
Dr. McGovern requested time to speak to the SGA Executive Council during our regular meeting time and we allowed him that time. He proceeded to harangue and threaten the students in the room and told us we should be a "good student government" and that we had no business assembling or making a statement regarding the crisis on campus. I strongly defended the actions of the students and made it clear to him that we would not accept threats or bullying and that we had a right to speak our minds to administration and assemble as we wished. Eventually, he agreed with us on several points and the meeting ended in an apparently productive fashion. I spoke to Dr. McGovern in a manner no different than I would speak to my own mother. I spoke my mind. I was never disrespectful.
While waiting to speak to the Board during their meeting on 6/4, I sat at Donna Sparks' desk. in the student affairs office.
While waiting in the admissions area for over an hour to speak to the Board during their 6/4 meeting, I was attempting to study for boards. To facilitate my studying, I sat first at the admission secretary's desk. As it was Sunday evening and no one was working, I thought it would be acceptable to sit at a desk. Since Donna was entering through the other end of the department at the student affairs door to update me periodically, I decided to move to her desk to save her the walk from the other end. I studied at her desk and the next time she came, I asked her if it was okay for me to study at her desk and she said it was okay. Apparently, my offense was not first asking Donna if I could sit at her desk before doing so.
While leaving the meeting where Dean Gaber told me I was on probation, I slammed his office door.
I may have unintentionally slammed Dean Gaber's door. I was irritated by Dean Gaber's actions, so I may have closed the door more vigorously than usual.
When accused by Dean Gaber of meeting with clinical faculty outside of school and of doing things that administration did not like, I stated that I did not care what he, Dean Kuchera or President McGovern thought of me because my responsibility was to the students.
I truly do not care what Dean Gaber, Dean Kuchera or Dr. McGovern think of me as a person. They all liked me until I began to contradict them and expose their deception. They were upset with me because they could not script my actions as I represented the studets. My first responsibility is to the people who elected me.
I took 3 student catalogs from the open materials cabinet in Student Affairs office.
I did take 3 student catalogs from the materials cabinet. It was lunch and no one was in the office except for Arloa. She was speaking to someone and I did not want to interrupt her, so I grabbed three copies of the handbook from the wide open cabinet and waited by her desk until she was finished talking. I then asked her if it was okay for me to take the handbooks and she cheerfully said it was okay. Apparently, my offense was not first asking someone to get the copies for me.
When Dean Gaber first told me I was on behavioral probation, he claimed the inciting episode was my email sent to the class about the clinical faculty being "fired". During our second meeting, he said it wasn't the email, but the above reasons that got me in trouble. Bewildering. If this is all I have done wrong in this process, I feel pretty good about myself. Apparently, the definition of disrespect as defined by these people is any action which is not programmed, approved or defined by them. Students are treated as mute property.
21 June, 2000
As of 5pm, 20 June, 2000 Travis Fawver was informed he was no longer on behavioral probation. The reversal of the administration standpoint is no doubt due to repeated student and clinical factulty visits to Dean Gaber, as well as my informing him of his violation of Travis’ civil rights according to the USDE Civil Rights department. While Travis has been taken off probation, it does not change the fact that the administation has been dealing inappropriately with the faculty and student body.
2) On numerous occasions several students, including myself, have been told that our email accounts are the property of KCOM and that any mail sent over the KCOM server can be read by the administration. It appears that the administration is the only body that thinks this is the case. Below please find a section of the Electronic Communications and Privacy Act that discusses the governance of such media.
“The Electronic Communications and Privacy Act of 1986 protects both the interception of and unauthorized intrusion into e-mail stored on a system.” “Consistent with this law and with most generally accepted views of privacy, KCOM affords the same privacy to e-mail as it does to paper mail and telephone conversations, i.e., to the fullest extent of the law. Thus, all e-mail files should be considered to be private and confidential unless the owner of them has explicitly made them available.”
In addition to this statement, I checked with the Civil Rights Dept. regarding inappropriate access to email and they informed me that any breach of this law, without the fear of harm to an individual, and without proper written request would be considered a breach of our right to privacy. When I informed Dean Gaber of this fact he again reversed his prior statements to the contrary and said that administration did not read our emails.
3) Three students that were involved in illegal acts towards another student were given mild reprimands and counseling. These three students are still here and will graduate as long as they keep up their academics. Enclosed you will find the associated police reports and personal statements. All three were found to have vandalized another students personal property and one was reported to have date raped the same fellow female student who’s car he had participated in vandalizing. In addition, one of the students, (student name deleted), was arrested/detained for a DUI. This was (student name deleted)second act unbecoming of a doctor at KCOM and he is still attending classes here. He is no longer in our class. He will graduate with the class of 2003. I do not find their solution fitting of the particular offenses considering they find it so easy to put (student name deleted on behavioral probation for his nobility and dedication during this time of crisis at KCOM. Had it not been for (student name deleted) the situation would have gotten out of hand. He did everything he could to ensure that all sides were heard in a non-biased manner. In addition to these three students, (student name deleted) a student that is from the class of 2001 and now in the class of 2002, was arrested for threatening fellow classmate (student name deleted) with a loaded 9mm semi-automatic handgun. This is a perfect example of an action unbecoming. Our responsibility as future physicians puts forth a set of standards that should preclude such actions by any one of us. The fact that (student name deleted) committed such an act is not acceptable in the general population let alone physicians. I find it extremely offensive that (student name deleted) is still in class or the school, for that matter, while (student name deleted), who did nothing wrong, has been put on behavioral probation.
I have informed the school of my intentions of filing a formal complaint with the Civil Rights Dept. and I was informed by Dean Gaber that they (I assume KCOM) would deal with it internally or externally in a court of law if that was necessary. I was surprised that Dean Gaber was so willing to face such an issue in open court or against the Civil Rights Dept. as opposed to modifying his behavior in order to save face. His statements to me are once again excellent examples of how KCOM deals with students. It appears that they think we will not act on these issues and that we pose little danger to them.
4) Enclose you will find a copy of an article from the Kirksville Daily Express that ran a statement from the student body at KCOM. This statement was made in response to an article printed earlier generated from a statement from Dr. McGovern. On the 4th of June 20, 2000 Travis Fawver, Allen Harrelson and Brian White from the class of 2002, in addition to representatives from the other classes, met with the board of trustees regarding the situation at KCOM. Following the meeting Dr. Stefanacci pulled Travis Fawver aside, essentially cornering him and reprimanded him for making a statement in the paper to counter that made by Dr. McGovern. He was told that such issues were not the concern of the students. That seems to be an inappropriate statement for the chairman of the board of trustees to make. On another occasion Dr. Stefanacci, in a conversation with Travis Fawver, stated that he did not care what students did “for all I care the students can leave if they want.” If your office takes the time to check I am sure you will find that all, or nearly all, of the Osteopathic schools have had an unprecedented number of students inquiring about the possibility of transferring to their school. As a medical school administration I would have to look at what is occurring within the school to push so many students to look into such a drastic move such as transfer. No comment has been made regarding these events and the administration chooses to deal with the issues by ignoring them.
5) In a case that is mentioned in the documents/statements enclosed, Dr. Herb Yates was reported to have struck a 1st year student across both cheeks during an OTM lab sessions, loud enough to be heard by surrounding students. Dr. Yates struck the student because the student did not hold the indirect technique for 90 seconds. Dr. Yates has had similar episodes of losing his professional demeanor during our lab sessions (2nd year student labs when we were 1st years). On more than one occasion he blew up at the class, screaming into the microphone, because he felt the class was being too loud. Regardless of how loud the class is there are better ways of getting the classes attention. There has never been any corrective action by the OTM dept. or KCOM with Dr. Yates even though the student that was slapped was assured that it would be done. No formal apology has been afforded the student.
Below you will find sections of the AOA College Accreditation that I believe have been violated.
AOA College Accreditation
II. Standards for Organization, Administration and Finance
A. The governing body shall define the mission/objectives of the COM, which shall include providing programs of instruction and training in the art, science, and practice of osteopathic medicine, and in the conduct of significant medical and scientific research.
5. The Board shall insure that members and officers of the Board avoid conflicts of interest with respect to the affairs of the COM.
The board of trustees has engaged in actions that directly conflict with #5. Dr. Stefanacci has tried to influence the actions of students regarding outside contact having to do with issues at KCOM. His action with Travis Fawver was mentioned earlier. According to members of the Board of Trustees, they have been kept in the dark and information about what has been happening at KCOM was not being disseminated to them from President McGovern through Dr. Stefanacci.
7. The chief academic officer shall have an earned D.O. degree from an AOA accredited college of osteopathic medicine; have AOA board certification; and have relevant training and experience as a dean, associate dean, assistant dean, or chair of an academic unit at a college of osteopathic medicine, college of allopathic medicine, military or public health facility.
Dr. Kuchera, the Dean of Academic Medicine, while having received a DO degree is not board certified and has not completed an AOA or AMA approved residency program.
9. The senior administrative leadership of the COM must collectively demonstrate experience and training in higher education and medical education as defined in Procedure 3.3.5.
If this has anything to do with Dean Kuchera, he has not demonstrated experience and training in higher education and medical education. I am unaware of President McGovern’s experiences.
B. The COM shall establish and demonstrate the implementation of planning procedures necessary to attain and maintain its educational mission/objectives.
On multiple occasions KCOM administration has failed to implement the change following repeated responses on post-class evaluation of curriculum and teaching content. Associated issues include but are not limited to the Pharmacology department being notified by a Pharm.D that their material was outdated and inaccurate. Their response was that it would not be changed. The OTM department teaching non-evidence based medicine and making claims of abilities to treat conditions that are contra-indicated (Cancer, Crushed vertibra) to OTM.
III. Standards for Faculty and Instruction
A. A COM shall demonstrate that it has sufficient and appropriate faculty to meet its mission/objectives.
2. The faculty shall include a sufficient number of full-time faculty, including osteopathic physicians, basic scientists, and others to carry out the mission and objectives of the COM (see Glossary). Faculty shall be available in sufficient number at the COM and COM-affiliated teaching sites to deliver the curriculum and to provide academic counseling to the students.
Under the current situation there is the potential for 33 of our clinical faculty to either not be returning or to not have new contracts issued. As a result, there is a significant risk for KCOM to have an insufficient number of clinical professors to teach the required courses for the rest of this academic year and the future academic years. President McGovern has on numerous occasions stated that KCOM would have no trouble finding doctors to replace those that leave or are fired. Any close scrutiny of such a statement would come to a conclusion contrary to President McGovern’s.
6. There will be a faculty organization that shall serve as a representative forum for the free exchange of ideas and concerns of all faculty.
Currently there is not a free exchange of ideas or concerns. Only recently have the administration and the clinical faculty come to the table. One of the reasons for the current situation at KCOM is that the faculty concerns were falling on the deaf ears of the administration. Concerns were not being forwarded up the chain of command. When concerns were taken in person to the board of trustees, the board was upset that proper channels were not followed and stated that they had not heard of these issues prior to that meeting. This meeting with the board occurred during the annual KCOM board meeting during May. This only helps to prove that the method in place to voice concerns is non-functional.
IV. Standards for Student Status and Services
D. A COM shall provide, or make provision for, the following services for its students.
1. Opportunities for consultation with members of the faculty shall be available on a regular and ad hoc basis.
There are a couple of issues that are of concern regarding this section. The first is that should the current clinical faculty not have renewed contracts or should they decide not to resign their contract, due to the situation at KCOM, then any physician that replaces them will likely not reside in the Kirksville area. The students will therefore not have access to the clinical faculty that are so important to our education. For last years class, Hematology/Oncology was taught by doctors from Columbia. Last years students were unable to adequately contact the professors to answer questions. This year the course was taught by a very qualified, Board Certified, female Oncologist. Unfortunately, her and her husband, who taught the respiratory course, have left Kirksville due to the way they were treated by the administration. It was a very sad day for the entire class and the college to see them leave. They are the Masischias. Another prime example of this is the current differential diagnosis class that is supposed to be taught by Dr. Robert Jackson, IM. Instead, the course is being taught by two MDs out of Saint Louis. As a result, students do not have access to the doctors for questions about course material. In addition, because of the fact that these doctors are not part of the current clinical faculty they are teaching clinical information that has already been taught by previous faculty classes. As MD’s, these doctors are also unable to integrate OTM into their course.
F. Provision shall be made for expression of student opinion by means of a formally structured process.
While there is a structured process for the purpose of grievances reporting, the process is anything but efficient and fair. Currently no student can use the grievance procedure since the people involved in settling the issues are the very people that have demonstrated anything but professionalism and are the very people that the college is having trouble with. The administration has repeatedly lied to students and faculty. On numerous occasions the faculty has been approached about scholastic issues that have not been addressed. As mentioned previously there have been several situations with regard to certain students and their unprofessional actions that have been dealt with inappropriately. The school and the administration has acted in a way that suggests that they are only interested in the money that each student brings to this college as opposed to upholding the professionalism of our noble profession.
G. The COM shall publish annually and distribute to each student a handbook detailing policies and procedures affecting students.
KCOM has not given the students recent handbooks as required by this item. The handbook was given during the orientation period, but has not been issued during the last two years.
V. Standards for Curriculum
A. The COM shall develop and implement a curriculum designed to achieve its mission/objectives.
1. The COM shall develop and implement periodic review and evaluation of the curriculum, and demonstrate application of the findings towards improvement of the educational program.
On several occasions, at the end of each quarter, the college has been given feedback and evaluations of the curriculum by students. To this date no changes have been made regarding several of these issues. Most specifically with regards to the OTM department. OTM is inefficient, does not teach evidence based or research back medicine and the department holds feedback made towards the department against the students. This is evidenced by their unprofessional actions towards the 1st year class during the end of spring quarter practicals following the presentation of a class generated OTM survey that expressed the departments shortcomings.
Dr. Miskowicz-Retz, I want to make it clear that I find it reprehensible that the premier and founding school of Osteopathic Medicine has found itself in such straits. It seems incredible, to say the least, that KCOM is not looking to the future with regards to this issue. Whether KCOM and the greater Osteopathic community wants to admit it or not, this incident will leave very negative indelible mark on our profession not to mention this school. KCOM fails to realize that this class, previous classes and future classes will not support their alma mater and will likely not encourage future applicants to apply to KCOM. In addition, KCOM’s OTM department is doing a very good job of turning students off to Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine. This is evidenced by a two class survey conducted by the students that was presented to the faculty and administration. There was an overwhelming drop in interest in OTM within less than 3 quarters. This is truly a sad day for KCOM, OTM and Osteopathic Medicine.
I would like to say thank you for your time on the telephone and the time it will take you to read this and associated documents. I know your schedule must be extremely busy without having to deal with outside issues of KCOM.
Sincerely
A concerned student
