New VP position for former University of Iowa College of Medicine dean temporary

IOWA CITY - A new position created for the former University of Iowa College of Medicine dean, touted as part of broader sign of UI Health Care's continued commitment to excellence, is only temporary, documents obtained by The Gazette show.

That wasn't initially disclosed when the university announced in February that Jean Robillard, vice president for medical affairs of UI Health Care, would also assume duties of College of Medicine Dean Debra Schwinn. She then would become 'associate vice president for medical affairs.”

'This leadership change represents UI Health Care's ongoing commitment to excellence in its missions,” UI Provost Barry Butler stated Feb. 10. 'It also enables the university to benefit from the skills of these uniquely talented individuals for the foreseeable future.”

But a letter sent Feb. 4 to Schwinn, who had been dean of the UI Carver College of Medicine since 2012, informed her the new appointment would continue only through Nov. 1, 2017.

'Upon completion of your term as associate vice president for medical affairs, you will assume the responsibilities of a full-time faculty in the Department of Anesthesiology,” the letter stated. 'Your compensation plan will be negotiated with you and finalized no later than July 31, 2017, and will become effective November 1, 2017.”

UI spokesman Tom Moore said a decision on making the appointment permanent 'has not yet been made, pending a review in 2017.”

'This is a new reorganization, so therefore it is natural that, like any new position, it will be re-evaluated after a period of time,” he said in an email.

In her new position, Schwinn will work with Robillard on 'mutually agreed upon special projects” and continue earning the same salary - $642,890. A compensation plan negotiated for Schwinn once she moves to the Department of Anesthesiology 'will follow departmental policy for tenured full professors.”

Schwinn came to the UI College of Medicine in 2012 from the University of Washington in Seattle, where she was an endowed professor of anesthesiology. Upon her appointment as dean, she was made a tenured professor of anesthesiology and adjunct professor of pharmacology and biochemistry.

Records show Schwinn was offered the new associate vice president position the same day the UI Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity approved a waiver from the usual search process for such a position.

UI policy requires administrators conduct a search when creating and filling faculty and professional and scientific positions - unless a waiver is approved. That policy, according to the UI, is designed to meet federal and state laws related to equal employment opportunity and affirmative action.

'Deviations from these procedures are therefore strongly discouraged,” according to the office's recruitment manual.

According to the manual, search waivers might be considered if - among other things - an applicant's 'unique qualifications and expertise are such that no other applicant would be expected to surpass this individual's qualifications for the position.”

UIHC initiated a request to waive a search for Schwinn's new position on Jan. 29, citing 'reorganization” and 'uniquely qualified candidate” as reasons.

Administrators justified it by explaining reorganization of leadership in response to 'rapid and constant changes in health care” made a new position for Schwinn necessary 'to ensure that the organization can continue to benefit from her unique skills and experience.”

The university did not seek a search waiver for the newly combined leadership position for Robillard, who was appointed to his vice presidential role in 2007 after serving four years as dean of the UI Carver College of Medicine.

'He previously had supervisory authority over the dean position and assumed those additional job duties with no modification to his salary or appointment status in the UI human resources system,” spokesman Moore said in an email.

In the new position, according to the request, Schwinn will work on special projects like helping develop the UIHC's 2017-2020 strategic plan and make recommendations for synchronizing the UIHC academic clinical enterprise with its educational mission.

In announcing her new role to medical students Feb. 10, Schwinn said she was privileged to have interacted with so many of them. And she introduced Robillard as their new dean.

'Dr. Robillard will be a wonderful ‘uber leader' in the years to come,” Schwinn wrote. 'He has Iowa's best interest at heart.”

During Schwinn's time as dean, the college's revenue grew 16 percent - from $604 million in the 2012 budget year to $701 million in the 2015 budget year, according to UIHC documents. She also implemented a 'novel, innovative, and iterative mechanisms-based” new medical school curriculum in fall 2014.

During his June 2015 state-of-the-enterprise address, Robillard challenged the College of Medicine to investigate ways to reduce the time it takes medical students to get into practice. And, when the Board of Regents in February approved Schwinn's new appointment, board President Bruce Rastetter praised the restructuring as innovative and forward-thinking and challenged Robillard to use his new role to follow up on that vision for a shortened medical degree.

'Regent Rastetter, we will take that as a mandate,” Robillard said at the time.