Joe 'Skip' Garcia, the embattled University of Arizona med-school chief, quits his VP post
Garcia said he is resigning his administrative duties to devote his full attention as a professor at the UA College of Medicine-Tucson.
- Garcia resigns as UA's senior vice president for health sciences overseeing medical schools in Phoenix and Tucson.
- Garcia resigned amid questions about his oversight of the medical school and a secret, independent review.
Dr. Joe G.N. "Skip" Garcia, the embattled top administrator overseeing the University of Arizona's medical schools in Phoenix and Tucson, abruptly resigned Thursday in what he described as an "exceptionally difficult" decision, according to the university.
Garcia informed UA President Ann Weaver Hart that he would resign his administrative duties as senior vice president for health sciences to devote full attention to being a professor at the UA College of Medicine-Tucson. Garcia holds a tenured appointment at the medical school.
Garcia is among the university's highest-paid employees with total compensation of $870,000 per year. He will collect that amount each of the next two years under the terms of his original offer letter of three years ago, a university spokesman said.
Garcia, who had come under scrutiny for his agency's spending of public funds and the ethics of its leadership, said in a letter to his department that he was proud of the progress of the medical schools.
"After much thought and reflection, I have decided that the time is right for me to take a step back and focus on my continually growing research commitments," Garcia said. "Please know that this decision was an exceptionally difficult one and not reached lightly, and that I am humbled by all of your support during my time as senior vice president."
Ups, downs of 3 years at post
Hart hired Garcia in 2013 as a senior vice president overseeing the university's medical schools in Phoenix and Tucson, as well as the schools of nursing, pharmacy and public health.
Shortly after Garcia was hired, he reorganized UA health sciences, recruited a roster of high-salaried academics and tightened oversight of the Phoenix medical school.
But Garcia faced questions about that oversight this year after Dr. Stuart Flynn, the Phoenix medical school's longtime dean, and most of his leadership team resigned to join the staff of a newly created medical school in Fort Worth, Texas.
The departures prompted the Arizona Medical Association, a physicians' organization with 4,000 members, to ask the Arizona Board of Regents to interview the departed leaders as part of an investigation of the school's management.
The Arizona Republic also detailed Garcia's spending of tens of thousands of dollars on travel luxuries such as upgraded airline seats and chauffeured trips in sedans between his offices in Tucson and Phoenix.
In August, the regents' health affairs committee held public hearings in Tucson and Phoenix to gather input from medical-school stakeholders and the community.
During the final subcommittee meeting on Aug. 12, Regents President Eileen Klein said she had received information that "raises questions about the ethics of leaders, the use of public monies, the accuracy of information documented in public records and the workplace culture and treatment of employees."
The regents authorized hiring an independent consultant, Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie LLP, to evaluate concerns about the two medical schools. The consultant delivered a report to the regents, who concluded in October following a closed-door meeting that no further action was needed.
Even though the Board of Regents spent $179,653 in public funds as of last month for the law firm to complete the report, the regents have refused to provide a copy of the report to the public, citing attorney-client privilege and work-product protections.
Roberts: What is the $180,000 secret at UA?
It is unclear what the report included. However, Flynn, the former Phoenix dean, confirmed to The Republic that he was not interviewed by the law firm.
Garcia will return to the faculty full time in January. The university is "working out the final details" before announcing an interim senior vice president, according to UA spokesman Chris Sigurdson. The university is expected to form a search committee to find a permanent replacement, he said.
Chic Older, executive vice president of the Arizona Medical Association, said his organization never received a copy of the confidential report that the doctors' group requested and the regents authorized.
"I hope all efforts will be made to ensure that whoever the replacement is has the commitment to medical education that that will help this state flourish," Older said.
Phoenix medical school
The Phoenix medical school opened a decade ago as a branch campus of the UA College of Medicine-Tucson. At the time, leaders said it was a pivotal step toward alleviating the state's physician shortage. The Phoenix medical school gained its own preliminary accreditation, which afforded it independence from the Tucson school over issues such as decision-making and establishing a curriculum.
An accrediting body raised questions about the Phoenix medical school's independence last year. It warned that it could lose its accreditation without changes to assure its independence.
Last February, the Liaison Committee on Medical Education approved the UA's proposed fixes and advanced the Phoenix medical school to midtier accreditation. The medical school will seek to complete its final step to receive full accreditation next year.
Older said he believes public scrutiny contributed to Garcia's decision to relinquish oversight of the medical and other health-related schools.
"The fact that the Arizona Medical Association was willing to shine a light on an area of concern, and the fact that the newspaper reported this with great accuracy, led to this," Older said. "It is critically important to have first-class medical education institution in this state."
Hart, who previously announced she would leave the president’s post when her contract ends in 2018 or earlier if a replacement is found, lauded Garcia's track record.
"The work accomplished by Dr. Skip Garcia in just three short years as the senior vice president for health sciences has had a profound impact on the future of the College of Medicine-Tucson, the College of Medicine-Phoenix, and the Colleges of Pharmacy, Nursing and Public Health at the University of Arizona," Hart said in a statement released by the university.