University officials have hired litigation firm Williams & Connolly to conduct an independent investigation into allegations of workplace and financial misconduct by top administrators at the University of Virginia School of Health and Medicine, according to university spokesman Brian Coy. In a statement to the Cavalier Daily, Coy said the university has worked with Williams & Connolly in the past but would not disclose when or under what circumstances, noting that the university generally does not comment on legal matters.
The announcement follows a letter sent to the board by 128 faculty members employed by University Physicians Group on Sept. 5. In the letter, the signers alleged that University of Virginia Health CEO Craig Kent and School of Medicine Dean, Professor of Medicine and Chief Health Affairs Officer Melina Kibbe have fostered a negative environment that is harmful to both patient safety and faculty health.
“In particular, the letter accuses Kent and Kibbe of hiring physicians despite concerns about their integrity and quality, and of intimidating faculty who complained about patient safety. The letter also alleges that the two administrators overspent on leadership, failed to address staffing shortages, and regularly violated the board-approved code of ethics.”
The identities of the 128 teachers who signed the letter have not been made public, the letter said, to protect teachers who fear retaliation. The Cavalier Daily has not been able to independently verify any of the claims made in the letter.
In the days after the no-confidence letter, university officials released several statements about the allegations, including one on September 6 co-authored by university president Jim Ryan and board of trustees chairman Robert Hardy. In their messages, Ryan and Hardy said the board and university administration take the allegations seriously and are determining next steps.
“We share the goal of providing every member of our community with the best possible place to live, learn and work,” the statement read. “We thank all members of the University of Virginia Healthcare team for their dedication to making our health care system one of the best in the nation.”
The next day, Ryan released a longer personal statement criticizing the way the signers of the letter of no confidence had addressed their concerns: In his statement, he reiterated the university’s commitment to investigating the allegations, but said the letter of no confidence presented many vague allegations of misconduct and offered few details about how it would investigate the allegations.
Ryan also said he was disappointed with the way the signers handled the situation, noting that he and Vice President and Dean Ian Baucom had already met with a small group of faculty before the letter of no confidence was issued. Ryan said the university has already addressed some of the concerns raised by faculty in those meetings and is in the process of addressing others.
“They have not only tarnished the reputations of Melina and Craig,” Ryan said, “but with some of their allegations, they have unfairly, and perhaps unwittingly, cast a shadow over the great work of the entire health care system and the School of Medicine.”
Following Ryan’s statement, a group of faculty who helped draft the original letter of no confidence sent a follow-up letter to the Board of Trustees on September 12 criticizing the university’s response to the allegations. The letter said that recent university statements, particularly Ryan’s personal statement, have shown a lack of respect for concerns about Kent and Kibbe’s behavior.
“Multiple communications from various university leaders and (health system board) members over the past six days have undermined your assertion that university officials are taking these allegations seriously,” the letter read. “Specifically, (Ryan’s) statement, sent on September 7, 2024, less than 24 hours after the respectful message he co-signed with President Robert Hardy, has destroyed what little credibility there was left in him.”
In the letter, the faculty denied that there was any evidence to support the allegations against Kent and Kibbe. They listed a series of specific meetings and interactions dating back to September 2021, each of which they said was an instance in which concerns related to the letter of no confidence were raised. The list included meetings with the Faculty of Medicine, meetings with Kent and Kibbe, and interactions with the University Physician Group Board of Trustees and administrators.
The university’s announcement of the investigation comes amid ongoing discussions between VA Health faculty and the university’s top officials. The university has no timeline for an investigation, according to Coy, who said the search firm plans to send initial findings to Ryan and the board of trustees.
“University leadership, including Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs Craig Kent and School of Medicine Dean Melina Kibbe, agree on the need to conduct a thorough and independent investigation,” Coy said. “The Board of Trustees and Chancellor Ryan will receive the findings and work with UT Health leadership to address any issues that may arise during this process.”
