Editor's note: An earlier version of this report incorrectly described the nature of Nancy Sterling's company. ML Strategies is a Boston-based consulting firm.
FORT WORTH -- Lee Jackson, chancellor of the University of North Texas System, misstated facts, lacked the knowledge to lead operations and allowed "pride and ego" to influence his decision-making, the leader of Fort Worth's Health Science Center said last month, according to a searing presentation released by his spokeswoman.Dr. Scott Ransom was fired as president of the Health Science Center by a 7-0 vote in December, five months after regents renewed his contract.Ransom's spokeswoman, Nancy Sterling, said he delivered the remarks to the board of regents during a two-hour closed session Dec. 21.That meeting came four days after Ransom received a letter signed by board chairman Jack A. Wall and accusing him of sowing "internal discord" by opposing a possible merger between the Fort Worth medical complex and the university's flagship campus in Denton.Ransom's presentation, titled "Dr. Scott Ransom Presentation to Board of Regents," describes a thin-skinned Jackson who was willing to throw him "under the bus" when Fort Worth leaders appeared wary of the merger.Last week, the Star-Telegram obtained portions of the presentation; the full text has since been released."I have done nothing wrong," Ransom told regents, according to the document. "As one regent highlighted to me, 'The chancellor's pride and ego were damaged through the merger discussion.' "In his comments, Ransom blames Jackson for his firing, painting a picture of a chancellor so determined to merge the system's various campuses and business operations that he would broker no dissent. Ransom also accuses the former Dallas County judge of "misstating the facts" about operations and lacking the "temperament and skills" to lead operations."In my opinion as a line administrator, the chancellor simply does not know how to do operations," Ransom said, according to the document.Deborah Leliaert, vice president of university relations at UNT, said neither university officials nor the board of regents would discuss personnel matters or what happened in closed session."Dr. Scott Ransom continues to assert publicly his intention to appeal the board's unanimous decision on his termination and it would be inappropriate to comment on or speculate about Dr. Ransom's actions," said Leliaert, who said she is serving as spokeswoman for the UNT System.Ransom has declined to comment since his firing. Sterling, of a Boston-based consulting firm, said last week that he is considering an appeal.It is unclear how an appeal would work. Ransom is entitled to compensation earned and unpaid in his role as president through the day he was fired, according to the contract.Ransom is a tenured professor at the Health Science Center, according to the contract.An independent decisionRansom's presentation outlined his accomplishments since taking over as president of the Health Science Center in 2007, including increasing research spending to more than $40 million per year and tripling the size of the clinical practice.He said enrollment has grown from 1,000 to 1,949 and is expected to reach 2,150 in the fall. He also touted efforts in raising funds for a proposed M.D.-granting program in Fort Worth.Ransom's presentation to regents goes into detail about the proposed merger, emphasizing that members of the UNT Health Science Center Foundation Board and its Board of Visitors, an advisory body, didn't like the merger idea, regardless of Ransom's views.The foundation board "is made up of significant leaders of the Fort Worth community," Ransom wrote. "They independently made their decision."Throwing me under the bus will not convince the Board of Visitors or Foundation Board to support the merger."On Christmas Eve, the chairman of the Board of Visitors, Dr. Ron J. Anderson, told Wall in a letter that Ransom did not attempt to sway the board against a merger."The action taken against Dr. Ransom is counter to our charter and has the potential to eliminate needed trust among leaders, faculty and volunteers who may have to face other challenging situations in the future," wrote Anderson, who served as chief executive of Parkland Hospital in Dallas until 2011.Anderson said Jackson has always placed the system above himself and asked the board to reconsider Ransom's firing.Ransom's salary includes $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.The Health Science Center, a medical teaching and research complex that sits on 33 acres on Camp Bowie Boulevard, has long been a point of pride in Fort Worth. Even after a merger, the center would stay in Fort Worth, where it has been since 1970.But community leaders worry that a merger would force the center to cede too much control and autonomy to officials in Denton.A lack of cooperation?Wall's December letter to Ransom began by saying that regents and Jackson had "expressed concerns about aspects of your conduct and leadership style" over the past six years and listed several examples of what he called Ransom's lack of cooperation.For example:-- 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."The letter is full of misstatements, factual errors and untruths," Ransom told regents, according to his presentation.Ransom also struck back at claims in Wall's letter that he had "a personal agenda" to undermine a plan to centralize administrative and business services through a Business Services Center located in Denton.Ransom told the regents that, far from improving services, the consolidation created slowdowns and, in one case, potentially dangerous conditions.Payroll was late, and electric and water bills weren't paid, he said in the presentation. In addition, the electronic medical records were shut down for two days, which he said could have affected patients.Ransom said Jackson "exploded" when he learned that Ransom had asked his staff to assess the pros and cons of the consolidation and then submitted their findings to UNT system auditors."He was unbelievably angry and told me to pull the report from audit or I would be fired," Ransom said, according to the document. "Clearly, he did not like the results of the study and was trying to cover up the study."In my opinion, the chancellor was really angry because he knows that the document proves that he has been misstating the facts regarding the BSC to the regents and various state agencies."Ransom told regents that Jackson takes disagreements personally and wanted him fired because he didn't appreciate Ransom's contrary opinions."Being fired for a difference of opinion is simply not acceptable," Ransom said, according to the document. "Being fired for creating a report that has conclusions different than the chancellor is not appropriate."Being fired for the strong opinions from the citizens of Fort Worth related to the merger proposal is not appropriate."Diane Smith, (817) 390-7675Twitter: @dianeasmith1
Read Dr. Ransom's presentation to the regents
Dr. Ron Anderson's letter to Board of Regents chairman Wall
Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
