Poison Pen letter of dismissal of Dr Richard Semelka, MD by Provost of UNC CHapel Hill - comparing with recent events.

I had intended to wait a couple of weeks before posting the letter sent to me in Jan 2016 written by the provost and hand delivered in a ambush meeting session by the then executive vice Dean of the School of Medicine (SOM) who shortly became Dean and CEO after the successful dismissal of Dr Richard Semelka from UNC Chapel Hill. Just in reference to Academic standing and reflection on severity of the Misconduct. Mary Willingham was a clinical instructor at UNC Chapel Hill when she raised the concerning 2012 of UNC students not receiving sufficient education when they were football players at UNC Chapel Hill, which eventually became national and international news in 2014. This termed Academic-Sports Scandal or Misconduct. I reported in 2014 that Al Parker, MD a radiologist with a hostile personality and a huge gun collection threatened all our Radiology residents. This was told to me by Bob Dixon, MD the Radiology Residency program director of UNC Chapel Hill School of Medicine in Nov 2014. Bob then within about a week told me about Paul Jaques, MD had been allowed to operate drunk as an interventional radiologist for decades, and relayed to me an incident where he reported to the Radiology chairman that Paul Jacques was in the middle of a work schedule where he was drunk, and the chairman did nothing to stop him. At the time I was a tenured full professor for 18 years. So a clinical instructor is entry level of university academic positions, with tenured professor the highest level. Furthermore, I was one of the most scholarship accomplished radiologists in the entire world, well within the top 20 (according to Scholar GPS) for my career.

The two events that I have just seen on tv or read are:

1. Texas A&M Scandal. Professor believing in more than 2 genders (or something similar) and a student stating the US government position is there are only 2. President of A&M firing professor for saying there are more than 2 genders. Faculty complaining about the firing and President stepping down. The whole scandal/ misconduct on its surface sounds silly, and what I term a 'So-What Misconduct' . So-what because no one was physically or significantly psychologically harmed. Who cares? The whole subject of how many genders there are is a little much, but I have written about using reason-sense on this subject. What is clear is no one with male genitalia should be in womens' restrooms or womens locker rooms. The rest is somewhat gray, and depends on how stupid it is.

2. Three radiologists and one cardiologist in La Sapienza, university hospital in Rome, Italy, charged with manslaughter for the death of a 70 yr old male reporter. One of the top universities in Italy, and a center I happen to know well. I don't know what they did to be held responsible for manslaughter. I think it is incompetence. So incompetence in missing the diagnosis of serious cardiac infection which resulted in his death. I am quite certain the incompetence was based on skill (which is a gray topic) and not incompetence of being drunk when they saw him (black and white).

I will elaborate on this in future blogs. So I reported two circumstances of the most black and white causes of serious misconduct. First, An emotionally disturbed radiologist Al Parker threatening at that moment all the Radiology residents. An important side note of additional long-standing misconduct that he had been coercing young female doctors to take his concealed fire-arm course in the basement of his house for decades, that senior leadership in Radiology were well aware of. Second, Paul Jacques who operated drunk on patients for 2 decades. Interventional radiology treats a great number of life-and-death procedures, so this is extremely serious. So this is the maximum level of severe misconducts.

I do not think I have mentioned it publicly yet, but my opinion for years has been if you want to change the truly gross misconducts in universities, medical practices, etc, you have to set strong examples. So I will post next the letter I wrote to the Board of Governors, contesting my dismissal, in brief that everything was made up lies, and I described clearly the seriousness of the misconducts by Al Parker and Jacques. All levels of adjudication sided with this letter, so none can say, oh I didn't know Al PArker did this with young female doctors and then went on to threaten all the Radiology residents, and I didn't know Jacques was allowed to operate drunk for decades. No, you did know, a number were part of the cover-up and others were made clearly aware in my letters. In my opinion all patients injured by Paul Jacques operating drunk experienced aggravated assault, and all patients killed on the table or within a week of him operating on them experienced manslaughter. Therefore all individuals who overlooked my claims, and instead went with a false narrative are accessories-after-the-fact to aggravated assault and manslaughter and should be tried and imprisoned appropriately..

This would bring immediate change to misconducts that are covered up by probably many centers. In my research my opinion is that UNC Chapel Hill is the worst example, both because of the conduct of the perpetrators, Parker and Jacques, but as importantly the actions to cover it up.

There have been other University presidents who have resigned over DEI excesses and also antisemitism. These charges are very gray at best, and probably half the US public disagrees with these moves. However it is reasonable to say that essentially the entire US public would recognize the importance of being very tough on physician miscreants, and on the senior administrations that cover it up.

This is the worst medical misconduct in modern US history. All the participants of the cover-up, this includes assistant attorneys for the Attorney General and UNC judges should be held to full account as accessories-after-the-fact to these crimes.

I attach in two pdf's my letter of dismissal by the Provost. I have not looked at the letter for several years, because I find it incredibly infuriating for me to read this most vicious, malevolent letter based on a set of lies concocted by a cabal of administrator-liars. The president of A&M fired the professor on things she actually did, while I find the whole subject silly, at least it was for an honest reason. I was fired for concocted lies. In part also to serve as a chilling effect to the entire SOM to keep their mouths shut about misconducts.

I will go into greater detail about all the vicious lies. I will start with how is reporting serious misconducts a personal matter and not a university matter? To suggest otherwise is patently absurd and at the minimum unconscionably unethical. I had asked for re-imbursement from my own professional business account that only contained money I had earned by myself as a medical expert. It was neither department funds nor state funds. Then travel was clearly shown to be a false charge, but travel is something that corrupt administrators use to find errors to attack faculty with. Pattern of dishonest behavior, unforgiveable lies from a vicious lying Provost, who had shown a pattern of vicious behavior as he has also treated Willingham maliciously. All vicious lies by a truly malevolent individual The King of Hearts of the cabal of scoundrels.

It enrages me that I have to look again at this letter, the most evil and most dishonest letter I have ever received. Shame on UNC for treating a professor who had given so much national and international attention to them. All to protect their jobs, with no interest in the success of the institution or safety of patients, staff, or faculty.

Richard Semelka, MD

Here it is:

Semelkaletter.pdf

Download PDF • 212KB

Semelka3 (1).pdf

Download PDF • 230KB