I’ve been writing about this a lot over at SDN, but over the past few days a major scandal has broken out of Gainesville, FL. Dean Bruce Kone of the University of Florida College of Medicine recently admitted an applicant into the class of 2012 who had never taken the MCAT and did not even turn in a secondary application. Unsurprisingly, Kone went against the decision of the Admissions Committee in doing so. Read the full story from the Gainesville Sun.
After reading this and other articles regarding Bruce Kone’s recent tenure at UF COM, it’s clear there is a hell of a mess brewing down in Gator nation. On the one hand you have reports from faculty indicating Dr. Kone (“Darth Kone”) has used fear to prevent his subordinates from speaking up (email from Kone to Machen’s staff), and on the other hand you have indications that UF President Bernie Machen pressured Kone into admitting Benjamin Mendelsohn. Either way, skies are looking dark and stormy in Gainesville for the foreseeable future.
I know this kind of favoritism happens all the time in our world, but the manner in which Mendelsohn was admitted cannot be excused by any measure of ethics. Never mind that he never took the MCAT; thousands of students all over America are admitted to allopathic programs without taking the MCAT (BS/MD programs are one example). But he didn’t even bother to turn in his AMCAS before the deadline; he had to receive special permission to even apply. The College of Medicine’s website explicitly says that “No application materials will be accepted after this date and there are no extensions of the deadline.” But apparently if your father played an important role in the election of the Governor who oversees higher education in your state, you’re golden.
Let’s get to the heart of the issue. The Dean of the College of Medicine showed no respect for the rules established by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education – the governing body that is responsible for accrediting medical schools in America. These rules specifically state that the ability to grant admission to a student lies solely in the hands of a faculty committee specifically created for that purpose. Bruce Kone has crossed a major line, one which may affect the future of the UF College of Medicine as an accredited medical school.
Still, I hesitate to lay all the blame on Kone himself. There exist many reasons to believe the order to admit Mendelsohn was given by President Machen. Ben Mendelsohn’s recommendation letters, all written by influential political figures, were sent specifically to Machen’s office, and no copy was given to the admissions committee (rendering Mendelsohn’s application even further incomplete). When asked by professor Lewis Baxter to allow an independent faculty review of the application, Machen denied the request, said he was satisfied with Mendelsohn’s credentials, and hoped his own assessment would “suffice.” It’s looking ever more clear that this was a top-down decision, likely given by Governor Crist and trickling all the way down to Kone. When the story leaked out to the press and people got too close, Kone became the fall guy for the job.
Regardless of who’s really at fault, this whole story has completely soured my impression of UF COM. As someone who has already been granted admission to UF, I can only imagine the anger and frustration that’s going through the minds of those who have been waitlisted or rejected by UF this year. I wonder what will become of the reputation of both the college and its dean; all I know is any med student with a choice is going to be staying as far away from this quagmire as possible.
It wasn’t even a faculty committee that he overruled. It contained a bunch of med students and they sabotaged the process. Major FERPA problems ahead. Doubt they even graduate.
A total non-story, except for the major of federal and state privacy laws by faculty and students. That’s the scandal, not that a brilliant kid got in.
navete, it is perfectly appropriate to have students as part of an admissions committee. Though they participate in the process at UF, the decisions are appropriately made by a committee whose composition and process has been approved by the LCME on multiple occasions.
well, maybe the students don’t realize that when they leaked the information they weren’t indemnified by the university, so now they’re exposed to civil lawsuits. They’re toast.
Frankly, I wouldn’t want someone in flight school deciding who the best pilots would be. This whole thing stinks.
This “exceptional student” washed out of the honors program at Northwestern and had less than a B average, in addition to having no MCAT. His supposed community efforts and foundations that he formed are non-existent. The LCME supports the inclusion of students on all major educational committees, including the admissions committee.
[...] applicant for medical school at the University of Florida who got in after the deadline, without any standardized test scores, and with an undistinguished record at his prior [...]
[...] applicant for medical school at the University of Florida who got in after the deadline, without any standardized test scores, and with an undistinguished record at his prior [...]
Guess what, gang. Ben Mendelsohn was so “unqualified” to be admitted, so “washed out,” that he’s now in his second year at UF College of Medicine and doing quite well. Some of his original classmates, though, who were picked by the selection committee, didn’t even make it through the year.
As for students being on the committee, that’s fine, as long as they obey the admissions committee rules and the law. In this case, they didn’t. Great to have such “honorable” people as doctors.
He is actually repeating MS1
I can also confirm that he failed and is now repeating his first year.