Faculty letter of support for Dr. Mary Beckerle

April 18, 2017

An Open Letter to the University of Utah President and Board of Trustees:

On Monday, April 17, the University of Utah sent an email to some faculty and staff notifying us that Mary Beckerle, PhD, has been relieved of her duties as CEO and Director of the Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI). We are writing to express our profound shock and disappointment. We could not be more confident in Dr. Beckerle as our leader and completely disagree with this decision.

Since her appointment as Director 11 years ago, Dr. Beckerle has demonstrated nothing but exceptional leadership and commitment to the success of HCI and the University of Utah. HCI was on the brink of losing its status as a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Cancer Center when Dr. Beckerle started her position. She has, in an incredibly short amount of time, not only secured HCI as a NCI-designated Cancer Center but has also led HCI to the coveted NCI Comprehensive Cancer Center status – the highest designation possible. This acknowledges the exceptional depth and breadth of HCI research in each of the four major cancer research areas: basic, translational, clinical and population-based research. Of note, Dr. Beckerle received the NCI’s highest rating for leadership: exceptional.

We are not alone in our position of highest confidence for Dr. Beckerle’s performance and vision. Many of us were in a meeting with HCI’s External Advisory Board just last Friday, April 14, when the Board unanimously gave highest praise for the accomplishments of HCI and, specifically, for Dr. Beckerle’s leadership. The Board comprises world renowned cancer experts, including a Nobel laureate. These are true leaders in the field - both physicians and basic scientists – from prestigious Cancer Centers around the nation, who clearly have great confidence in our Director.

In addition to the strongest vote of confidence from our faculty and the External Advisory Board experts, the most recent reviews from the NCI itself were exceptional – HCI received the highest rating possible following a stringent review and site visit by experts. It simply doesn’t get better than this. Dr. Beckerle has also served as a national expert on the Blue Ribbon Panel for the NCI’s Cancer Moonshot effort, and recently was called to testify to Congress on the importance of funding cancer research for the future of America.

In the area of clinical care, Dr. Beckerle’s leadership has led to unprecedented growth of cancer care enterprise at HCI. This leadership has been responsible for an incredible increase in the patient volumes and patient satisfaction that is at 99th percentile compared to all cancer hospitals. In addition, Huntsman Cancer Hospital was just ranked as a top 50 cancer hospital in the country. HCI has made clinical trials available to thousands of patients that would otherwise not be able to receive the newest therapies. HCI is the only cancer center to be designated by the NCI in the five-state Intermountain West region, which includes Utah, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and Nevada, and which covers more than 17 percent of the continental United States landmass. Revenues from clinical enterprise have been reinvested along with generous donations from the Huntsman family to keep growing the clinical and research enterprise. Clinical faculty growth and satisfaction has increased and our clinical faculty are shocked and appalled at this decision.

We are proud of Dr. Beckerle’s national reputation as a leader in cancer research and for bringing HCI to international recognition. Even more importantly, the Jon M. Huntsman family founded HCI with a vision to eradicate cancer from the face of the earth. We came to HCI because we share this vision. We feel an incredible sense of commitment to the mission, to our patients, and to our community. The only viable fight against cancer is research and excellent patient care, and for the University of Utah to give up the leadership of Dr. Beckerle, who brought HCI to the status of a world-renowned cancer research and clinical center is a colossal mistake.

Our concern is for the future of what we have worked so hard to build, and for the promise left untapped if decisions are enacted without full consideration of their consequences and without thorough input from the faculty.