Susan Kelly, the CEO of Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science in Willowbrook since 2006, has been placed on administrative leave and will be replaced by the university's board of directors. (Photo by Gary McCarthy)
Story Published:
Apr 29, 2009 at 5:19 PM PDT
Story Updated:
May 22, 2009 at 6:34 PM PDT
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Susan Kelly has been relieved of her duties as president and CEO of Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in an apparent veil of secrecy, it was learned Tuesday.
John Mitchell, media advisor for the university, was asked whether rumors of Kelly’s termination were true, and replied: “There has been no announcement of that.”
However, a source close to the university’s board of directors said Kelly “was put on an extended leave [Monday] and won’t be back.” The source, who requested anonymity because he is not authorized to speak on board matters, added: “She’s out and her e-mail was dismantled [Tuesday].”
The source speculated that Dr. Keith Norris, the university’s vice president for research, may succeed Kelly. “He is a dynamic young man who brings a lot of money into the university and he would make a fine president,” the source said.
Another member of the Drew community, who also requested anonymity because he is not authorized to speak, said discontent with Kelly’s leadership has been brewing on multiple fronts on the campus for some and he cited three specific negative marks on her administration that may have led to her removal:
• She was given a vote of no confidence by the Academic Senate and the students on Feb. 24 because of complaints of fiscal mismanagement, including allegations that she paid her husband $437,000 for unspecified work at the school
• The faculty and students’ action was followed by a vote of no confidence by the Executive Council, which is composed of the university’s administrators, and
• A team from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges expressed concerns about Drew’s accreditation when it visited the university late last month.
Attempts to reach attorney Bart Williams, chairman of Drew’s board, for comments were unsuccessful Wednesday as he was involved in a San Francisco trial. Craig Parsons, the university’s communications director, expressed stunned surprise when a reporter informed him of Kelly’s ouster and said he must obtain information himself before he could comment.
On Wednesday afternoon, Mitchell sent an e-mail to a reporter confirming that Kelly had been let go.
Kelly, who holds a Ph.D in psychology, has been Drew’s president and CEO since May 1, 2006. She is the eighth president and first female to head the Willowbrook-based university, which was established almost immediately following the 1965 Watts riot. Charles Drew University is the only historically black medical school west of 133-year-old Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tenn. It is also the only dually designated historically black graduate institution and Hispanic-serving health professions school in the country.
An Australian native who was born in Tasmania, Kelly became a naturalized United States citizen on Sept. 11, 2008.
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