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Mary Beckerle, CEO and director of the University of Utah’s Huntsman Cancer Institute, was removed from both roles this week, effective immediately, The Salt Lake Tribune reported. "It was totally surprising," Beckerle told the newspaper. "I didn't expect it at all." David Pershing, university president, and Vivian Lee, senior vice president of health sciences, announced the move internally Monday but did not provide a reason.
Professors criticized the change at a meeting Tuesday, with one calling it a "coup," and launched a petition to reinstate Beckerle. Members of the Huntsman family, after which the institute is named, also spoke out against the move, with Jon Huntsman Sr. calling it a "power grab" by Lee. He said that he’ll make sure Beckerle is back in charge "one way or another," according to the Tribune. His wife, Karen Huntsman, called the move "a hostile takeover. … This is just the beginning, the war."
Kathy Wilets, university spokeswoman, declined comment, saying the change was a personnel matter. Beckerle, who has led the institute since 2006, will remain a distinguished professor in biology, according to administrators. Kathleen Cooney, a clinical oncologist and prostate cancer researcher, was appointed interim center CEO and director.
