The plan to quickly appoint Dan Selden was tabled after Gov. Kotek and others cried foul.
The Oregon Health & Science University board of directors delayed a vote to replace outgoing university president Dr. Danny Jacobs, who quietly resigned this month the same day a former dean filed a $6.2 million lawsuit accusing Jacobs and OSHU of a cover-up that cost the dean his career.
OHSU announced last Friday it will pause the search for Jacobs’ replacement after Gov. Tina Kotek and others objected to the rushed schedule.
“The Governor believes the timeline put forward to appoint a new president compromises the future of the institution and that it would be a mistake to push through a decision of this magnitude without appropriate due diligence,” reads a statement from Kotek’s office as quoted by The Lund Report, which was first to report the board would delay appointing Jacob’s successor.
On Oct. 24, the university announced in the same statement that Jacobs would retire and the board would vote at its next meeting to appoint as his replacement Dr. Nate Selden, current dean of OHSU’s school of medicine.
Jacobs, who began his tenure in 2018, will resign “after careful consideration and for personal reasons,” according to the statement.
OHSU Board Chair Chad Paulson praised Jacobs for growth and positive change at OHSU despite “headwinds.”
“As Dr. Jacobs shared with the OHSU community, he recently informed me of his intent to resign from his position as president,” Paulson writes. “He has led us through a tumultuous six years of challenges, including events that have transformed our focus and commitment to equity, compliance and safety, and a global pandemic that has substantially altered the profitability of health care systems.”
The statement did not mention that earlier the same day, a former medical school dean sued the university. Dr. David Jacoby accused the university of forcing him out for failing to handle an up-skirt photo scandal earlier this year. He claims it was actually superiors at OHSU including Jacobs who mishandled the allegations that a prominent doctor secretly photographed female students, The Oregonian reported.
Among the allegations, Jacoby claims he was falsely blamed for giving a $46,000 bonus to the doctor who took the photos, when it was actually Jacobs who approved it. An outside consultant’s report eventually blamed Jacobs for unfairly faulting Jacoby, according to the Lund Report.
Jacobs’ tenure as president saw numerous other controversies. He was also heavily involved in shepherding a planned merger with OHSU’s largest local rival, Legacy Health.
Selden would have served a three-year term as president. He still may.
The OHSU board is “moving expeditiously” to launch a formal search for a new president, according to another statement. It will soon name a search firm and committee to assist in the process.
Paulsen shared his hope that Selden will continue to pursue the OHSU presidency.
“The board is extremely grateful to Nate Selden, M.D., Ph.D., a highly qualified, world-renowned pediatric neurosurgeon, for his incredible leadership and willingness to step up,” Paulsen writes.
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