Uh, Good-bye, Dean Kessler?

Yesterday, I woke up at noon to find an unsual e-mail in my box. There was no subject line and it was supposedly from our Dean, Dr. David Kessler:

"Shortly after arriving at UCSF as Dean, I discovered a series of financial irregularities that predated my appointment. I reported these issues to appropriate university officials at the time, and have endeavored to work with the university ever since to solve these problems. The university characterized me as a whistleblower. During the summer, Chancellor Bishop requested my resignation. I continued to try to solve these problems. Yesterday, Chancellor Bishop terminated my appointment as Dean, effective immediately. Over the course of the past four years, it has been my pleasure and honor to work with the outstanding faculty, staff, students and donors of this remarkable school and institution. I want to thank all of you for the opportunity to foster and nurture outstanding programs on behalf of UCSF.

Sincerely,

David A. Kessler, M.D.
Professor of Pediatrics, and Epidemiology and Biostatistics"

So on Thursday night, Chancellor J. Michael Bishop dismissed Dean Kessler from his post...very abruptly and with little preparation...but the fallout from this event is going to linger.

The story has been picked up by USA Today and the SF Chronicle, and the dean's entry has already been revised in Wikipedia.