A former president of the Iowa Board of Regents has called for the firing of the dean of the University of Iowa's College of Public Health. Marvin Pomerantz, a Des Moines businessman and prominent university donor, said Jim Merchant should be fired for rejecting a $15 million give from Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield insurance company. Merchant has been dean of the college since it was founded in 1999, and he plans to retire next year. ``We need to pay him off and get him out of there,'' Pomerantz said Wednesday.
Why does Pomerantz not see the humor in his own statement? He was willing for Wellmark to "pay off" the School of Public Health, for crying out loud. Higher education prepares people for the workplace, but should not kowtow to such silliness. Pomerantz seems to think that university donations should buy carte blanche.
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