Faculty members at the University of Iowa’s College of Public Health have voted to reject a plan under which Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield would donate $15-million and the college would rename itself after the company.
According to The Gazette, a newspaper in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, some university trustees and others had raised concerns about conflicts of interest that might have arisen from such a deal. But the dean of the college, James Merchant, told reporters that the company might still make a gift if it was allowed to name the college after a person of its choice. —Lawrence Biemiller
