What in the world is going on at the Pankey Institute? Is the Pankey Institute losing its way?

I just received an e-mail to Pankey students from Tony Trujillo, the President and CEO at Pankey, that says due to budgetary reasons Steve Ratcliff, Gary DeWood and LeeAnn Brady will no longer be on the resident faculty at Pankey. Gary DeWood left earlier this year to work with Frank Spear. LeeAnn Brady, the ex Clinical Director is joining Gary at The Seattle Institute. The ex Director of Education, Steve Ratcliff's future plans are unknown.

Trujillo said Irwin Becker (I thought he had retired) will be the interim Director of Education while they search for a new Director of Education.

Trujillo announced that the Institute will have only two resident faculty members - a Director of Education and a Clinical Director. The rest of the teaching will be done by Visiting Faculty.

Trujillo's e-mail said the Directors of the L.D. Pankey Dental Foundation had informed him to make necessary changes to balance the budget.

The rest of the e-mail is pablum wishing the deposed resident faculty well in their future careers and saying Trujillo's decisions are in alignment with the Pankey philosophy.

Trujillo's decision fans the flames of the concern I expressed in a summer of 2007 article about the loss of L.D. Pankey's philosophy as the foundation of the Institute. Pankey Institute hires a new CEO. A strange hire?

Soon, not only will there be no one on the full-time faculty that learned the philosophy directly from L.D.; there will be no one who has had any experience teaching the philosophy.

I am also concerned that Trujillo is making classic power play executive decisions that are not in the best long term interests of the Institute.

There has to be a back story to this. It seems rash to can or lose all of the existing faculty at the Institute one year after Trujillo assumed command.

We will see.

To see the spirited discussion forum debate on my "Pankey Institute hires a new CEO. A strange hire?" article go to: Pankey Institute hires a new CEO. A strange hire?