Former Medical Dean at U. of Florida Quits Faculty Post in $517,000 Settlement

A former dean of the University of Florida College of Medicine, who was threatened with dismissal a few months ago for allegedly sending anonymous e-mail blasting the university, has agreed to resign as part of a $517,000 settlement with the university, The Gainesville Sun reports.

Bruce C. Kone has denied sending the e-mail, which harshly criticized university officials for demoting him from the position of dean in May 2008. That move came after Dr. Kone overrode a selection committee’s recommendation and admitted a medical-school applicant from a politically influential family.

He retained his faculty position, but in April university officials threatened to fire him after a barrage of anonymous and highly negative e-mail was sent to some applicants for university jobs. One message said the university was in a “classic death spiral” and called the university’s president, J. Bernard Machen, a “dictatorial ass.”

University officials said the settlement prevented them from explaining how they had concluded that the messages came from Dr. Kone.

In the aftermath of his demotion, the former dean submitted requests for thousands of pages of public records from the university and has filed numerous complaints to trustees, as well as to state and federal officials.

The $517,000 settlement, which is intended to end all disputes and claims between Dr. Kone and the university, will be paid out over three years. “If the disputes had continued and litigation occurred, the university would have spent this much or more,” the university said in a written statement.

Dr. Kone also agreed not to apply for future jobs at the university or its affiliates. He has returned, as a visiting professor, to the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, where he was employed before moving to Florida. —Katherine Mangan