UNT regents fire president of Health Science Center in Fort Worth

By Diane Smith

FORT WORTH -- The president of the University of North Texas Health Science Center was fired Friday after regents accused him of sowing "internal discord" by opposing a possible merger of the Fort Worth center and the main university campus in Denton.

"Instead of allowing this study to proceed in a thoughtful and objective way, we discovered that you were conducting a personal campaign to stop any serious internal consideration of this issue," regents for the University of North Texas System told Scott Ransom in a letter dated Tuesday.

The Health Science Center, which has its main campus on Camp Bowie Boulevard in Fort Worth, is affiliated with UNT but operates as an independent campus.

In August, UNT Chancellor Lee F. Jackson announced that a 90-day study would evaluate the pros and cons of combining the center and UNT under the same academic umbrella, a model that he said would benefit research.

Community feared loss

of control to Denton

The center, which sits on 33 acres, has long been a point of pride in Fort Worth. Even after a merger, the science center would stay in Fort Worth, where it has been since 1970. But community leaders worried that a merger would force the center to cede too much control and autonomy to officials in Denton.

Last month, Jackson tabled further discussions, saying only that because of "other priorities, now is not the best time to pursue this proposal."

Publicly, at least, Ransom had expressed support for the study.

"With a continued commitment to expand our programs, our enrollment, and our research in Fort Worth, we look forward to evaluating the possibilities," he said in an August news release.

But in the Tuesday letter, regents said Ransom was behaving differently in private, describing his actions as being of an "acute disruptive nature."

"Our concerns about your behavior have nothing to do with the substance of whether the idea of a merger is a good one or not, but instead we are concerned that the internal discord you created actively undermined the ability of the UNT System to conduct a fair and objective examination of this topic that is so important to many of our peer institutions in Texas," states the letter, which was signed by board Chairman Jack Wall, a resident of Dallas who grew up in Fort Worth.

Ransom, who had led the center since 2006, didn't respond to reporters as he left a meeting room minutes after the regents' 7-0 vote.

But a spokeswoman for Ransom said the board's actions and timing of a meeting just before Christmas was questionable.

"He's going to appeal this decision," said Nancy Sterling of ML Strategies, a consulting firm in Boston. "This whole process is highly unusual."

Sterling said Ransom heard about the regents' concerns for the first time this week.

"This has been a short and stressful time period for Dr. Ransom," Sterling said.

Dr. Michael R. Williams, a former member of the board of regents, was named interim president. Williams resigned from the board Thursday. He had served on the board for 15 months.

"I'm happy to be here," said Williams, a native of North Texas and graduate of the center's Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine. "It's an exciting time to have an opportunity to give back to my community."

Concerns about conduct and leadership

The letter delivered to Ransom began by saying: "Over the past six years, the University of North Texas System Board of Regents and Chancellor Lee F. Jackson have expressed concerns about aspects of your conduct and leadership style, always with the belief that these aspects of your performance would improve and that you would succeed despite these challenges."

The board listed several examples of Ransom's lack of cooperation:

In August and September, Ransom was said to have continually discussed with regents his interest in being the president of a "newly merged institution."

Ransom was said to have been negative about the merger during internal discussions.

Regents said he edited a draft of the campus merger study so it was one-sided, showing only the negatives.

Regents said Ransom didn't include the system chancellor in discussions with Fort Worth community leaders about the merger.

In September, however, Ransom's contract was extended through Aug. 31, 2015.

Ransom's salary includes a $678,562 in base pay plus $226,000 in supplemental salary. In 2010, The Texas Tribune listed Ransom's total $904,562 paycheck as the largest for a university administrator in Texas.

Sterling said Ransom has not been given any details about a compensation package.

The board will try to find a permanent president quickly, said Wall, the board chairman. Wall said he hopes the system and Fort Worth community will be able to work past this chapter. Even though the board liked Ransom, there were too many issues.

"At some point you have to say: 'This is not working as it should.'"

'It's a dark day'

The merger talks also stirred concerns among members of the UNT Health Science Center Foundation Board, a fundraising arm for the institution. Several members attended Friday's meeting to show their support for Ransom.

"It's an extreme disappointment," said Allan Howeth, foundation chairman. "He's been a very capable and dynamic leader for the UNT Health Science Center."

Howeth and other supporters said they worried that the removal of Ransom would hurt Fort Worth's effort to become a destination center for health-related fields.

Howeth also said he is concerned that a merger would result in a loss of a school president, which would trigger a drop of philanthropic dollars for the school and its efforts to bring an M.D. program to Fort Worth.

Foundation members said about $27 million has been pledged for the project and Ransom played a huge role in getting that support. Howeth said they expressed their concerns to regents.

"It's a dark day," said Tim Sullivan, foundation member.

'Fort Worth loves this man,' minister says

The Rev. Ralph Waldo Emerson Jr. said Ransom's work was inclusive and stretched across the Fort Worth's diverse communities.

"Dr. Ransom came east of [Interstate] 35 and involved himself in the community," Emerson said.

Michele Reynolds, another foundation board member, said Ransom helped put Fort Worth on the map. His work increased the visibility of the campus. Supporters touted his efforts to attract more students and research.

"Fort Worth loves this man," Reynolds said.

Foundation board members also worried that the move would not sit well with lawmakers who must OK efforts to create an M.D. program at the center, which currently has an osteopathic medical school.

With the merger study currently off the table, the University of North Texas System renewed its focus on obtaining the M.D. program and top research status for the flagship campus in Denton.

Jackson said that while Ransom's termination might cause some setbacks in the quest for a medical school, the shift in leadership may bring new opportunities.

"I am confident we will not be any worse off in those discussions," Jackson said.

Establishing strong ties and gaining the support of Fort Worth's osteopathic medical community will be keys to pursuing the M.D. program, Jackson said.

Diane Smith, (817) 390-7675

Twitter: @dianeasmith1

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