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Story: THE BIG NUMBER: $700,000
Date: May 22
What happened: Earlier this year, as Oregon Health & Science University asked staff to cut costs, president Dr. Danny Jacobs got $700,000 added to his retirement account over two years, augmenting his existing retirement pay and an annual salary of $1.64 million, news that WW got through a public records request. OHSU board chair Wayne Monfries had approved the extra cash unilaterally. It was one of many moves by the administration that irked staff and destroyed support for Jacobs, already under fire for what medical school deans and department heads deemed poor management. “He was in way over his head,” says Dr. Jeff Jensen, a vice chair at the medical school and one of the few critics willing to go public at the risk of reprisal.
What’s happened since: Jacobs resigned in October, citing personal reasons, another move broken by WW. Bad blood had been rising for months. In August 2023, OHSU announced it was considering a takeover of Legacy Health, despite the fact that both hospital systems had been losing money. Job cuts began this year, and Jacobs slashed more than 500 positions, irking employees who remembered his generous retirement bump. Many also recalled that departed human resources head Qiana Williams had a separation agreement that guaranteed she could continue to collect her $550,000 salary until June 2025, unless she took another job. Jacobs resigned just hours after former medical school dean David Jacoby filed a lawsuit against OHSU and Williams, claiming he had been unfairly blamed for how the university handled the case of a doctor accused of taking upskirt photos of a female student. Jacoby’s lawsuit relied on a report commissioned by Jacobs that, in broad terms, found Jacoby had been scapegoated by the university president and Williams. Jacobs’ departure hasn’t stemmed the rancor on Pill Hill: This week, a high-ranking researcher at the Knight Cardiovascular Institute sued the institution for cutting his pay.