The college's selection committee objected to his admission.

A student admitted to the University of Florida's College of Medicine by its dean, over the objections of the college's selection committee, had not taken a required admissions examination, according to committee members.



When the committee considered the 2008 application of Benjamin Mendelsohn, the son of a prominent Republican fundraiser and contributor, Mendelsohn had not taken the Medical College Admissions Test, or MCAT, according to three members of the selection committee and two other sources close to the situation. The MCAT is a standard admissions requirement for regular admission to the program, selection committee members said.



The sources who spoke with The Sun did so on condition of anonymity, citing concerns about discussing confidential student information.



"There were portions of the application that were unacceptable," said a fourth member of the selection committee, who also asked for anonymity because of confidentiality concerns.



Asked if any student had ever been admitted through the regular admissions process without taking the MCAT, a UF spokesperson would only say: "We maintain the admission by the dean is in accordance with the College of Medicine's admissions policy, which provides the dean the authority to make admissions decisions."



Dr. Bruce Kone, dean of UF's College of Medicine, said last week that he chose to overrule the committee because the applicant was "exceptional." UF President Bernie Machen did not respond to an e-mail asking if he approved of Kone's actions, but he did send an e-mail to a faculty member that said Machen had "looked into" the situation and was "satisfied with the candidate's qualifications for admission."



Mendelsohn is the son of Alan Mendelsohn, a Hollywood ophthalmologist who was a grassroots organizer for Gov. Charlie Crist's 2006 campaign. Kone says there was no political influence in his decision, and that no one leaned on him to admit the student.



Attempts to reach Benjamin Mendelsohn for comment were unsuccessful.



Kone met with UF administrators Friday to discuss the admission of the student, which was made public by a story in The Sun the same day. In response to the meeting, Kone sent a critical e-mail to those in attendance, and copied Machen.



In the e-mail, time-stamped Friday at 10:52 p.m., Kone said Machen's staff did not "sho(o)t straight" when he met with them, adding that they were not sufficiently courteous to him when they discussed the admissions issue.



"I don't know if it was cowardice, a lack of compassion, or what, but it is symptomatic of why this university is stuck in mediocrity and has been since I left here 13 years ago," wrote Kone, a former UF student and faculty member.



Kone said that he followed university precedent, "delivered a great student. Took many bullets for the team. Protected the mother ship."

Asked whether Kone's reference to protecting the "mother ship" implied that he was pressured to accept the student, Machen responded Wednesday, "Please don't make inferences that would be pure conjecture . . . I assure you neither I nor any member of my staff had any involvement in the medical student admission decision."



Benjamin Mendelsohn had received a letter of recommendation from Crist when he applied for admittance to an accelerated medical school program in 2007, but Kone says he never saw it. In his e-mail discussing the admissions issue Wednesday, Machen also referenced a letter sent by Sen. Ken Pruitt, the Republican chairman of the state Senate.



"The letters from Sen. Pruitt and the governor were routine and there was no follow-up from us," Machen wrote. "We receive scores of them each year."



Efforts to reach Pruitt's district office to acquire any letter he may have written were unsuccessful Wednesday night.



The accelerated program to which Mendelsohn applied in 2007, which combines bachelor's and medical degrees over seven years, is known as the Junior Honors Program. That program does not require an MCAT, but Mendelsohn was approved this year for regular admission - not Junior Honors admission, according to a search committee member.



Graham Patrick, assistant dean of admissions at Florida State University's College of Medicine, said the MCAT is one of many credentials that FSU takes into consideration when evaluating applicants. He added, however, that "we have never had anyone admitted without an MCAT score."



Two selection committee members expressed concerns about Mendelsohn's qualifications beyond the lack of an MCAT. UF applicants are required to complete a standard medical school application through the American Medical College Application Service, a sort of national clearinghouse that collects information for applicants who may be applying to multiple medical schools.



According to one search committee member, Mendelsohn did not complete a secondary application through the service that UF requires before admission. Another member characterized it this way: "He never took the MCAT and did not apply through AMCAS by the usual deadline - instead, he applied by special permission, given by Dr. Kone, in February."



UF requires that all materials be submitted by Jan. 15, according to the university's Web site.



"Incomplete files will be canceled from further consideration," the Web site states. "No application materials will be accepted after this date and there are no extensions of the deadline."



UF officials would not respond specifically when asked if deadlines could ever be extended under any circumstances, only saying the dean controls admissions.





Kone berates Machen's staff





Dr. Lewis Baxter, a professor of psychiatry and neuroscience in the college, has called on Machen to allow for the Faculty Senate to conduct an independent review of Mendelsohn's credentials to determine how he stacked up against other applicants.



In response to an e-mail from Baxter requesting an independent Faculty Senate inquiry, Machen said he was satisfied with the student's credentials and hoped his own assessment would "suffice."



Absent an independent vetting, however, Baxter says he's not satisfied that UF can assure the public that Kone didn't play favorites with a student whose family is politically connected.



"Like Sen. Joe McCarthy, Dean Kone won't show the evidence; he just asserts he has it, and demands others accept his assertion," Baxter wrote in an e-mail.



"This whole thing stinks like a rotten fish, and the university just can't afford this," added Baxter, who completed his undergraduate degree at Yale University and his medical degree at UF. "We just can't appear this way."



Baxter added that he was disappointed his colleagues haven't spoken out publicly about the issue.



"The faculty here, some of them could care less, and a lot of them are just scared," he said.



Several faculty members who contacted The Sun said they feared what might happen to their careers if they were publicly critical of the dean's actions. As evidenced by his Friday e-mail, Kone has openly criticized those with whom he disagrees - even Machen's own staff.



"Have some guts to stand up for principles," Kone wrote. "Personally, I expected a great deal more from you as supposed leaders. I can't believe the level of deja vu. In 13 years, there's really been exactly no change in the president's office leadership.



"It's a small town. There are small minds. But for crap's sakes, and speaking strictly as an alumnus, wake up. You are talented. Start leading.



"It was extremely disappointing - all of you."



Asked if he was comfortable retaining a dean who would so berate his staff, Machen wrote, "Dr. Kone is handling a difficult situation. I hope we can help him going forward."





Kone, applicant share high school





Kone has not elaborated on why Mendelsohn, who was among 2,783 applicants to a college with only 135 available seats, stood out so prominently among a sea of would-be med students who boast impressive credentials. While critics charge that Mendelsohn's political connections may have been at play, there is a personal connection that Kone and the admitted student share. They have the same high school alma mater.



Years before Mendelsohn graduated from Pinecrest High School in South Florida, Kone was also a Pinecrest student and a stand-out member of the swim team. There's a further family connection to the school as well. At one time, Kone's father was Pinecrest's chief financial officer, according to Lourdes Cowgill, the high school's president.



In a recent phone interview, Cowgill said Kone and Mendelsohn were both "superb" students - adding with a laugh that Kone was quite "handsome."



Cowgill said she wrote a letter of recommendation for Mendelsohn before he was admitted as an undergraduate to Northwestern University, and she sent along the same recommendation for his medical school application. Prior to her interview with The Sun, Cowgill said she'd heard nothing about Mendelsohn being admitted without the committee's approval.



"It would never occur to me to ask (UF) to do anything out of the ordinary," she said. "Besides, I don't think I'm that powerful . . . It never occurred to me that it wouldn't go through the regular application process."





Decision prompts inquiry





Dr. Frank Bova, a professor of neurosurgery and incoming chairman of UF's Faculty Senate, said Wednesday that the college's Faculty Council plans to conduct an inquiry into the admissions process. The council will examine proper admissions protocols, but - at least initially - it won't likely examine the specifics of Mendelsohn's credentials, he said.



"First we need to understand the process and the rules that the committee and that the medical school operates under," said Bova, who is also a member of the Faculty Council. "After we understand what those are, then we'll understand what everyone's role is."



According to standards set by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, the accrediting agency for the college, "the final responsibility" for selecting students to be admitted resides with a constituted faculty committee. But UF officials point to internally produced policies, which were reviewed by the accrediting agency, that they argue empower the dean with the final say.



The policies, submitted to the university's accrediting body in 2004, state that the selection committee makes decisions that are also reviewable by the dean. The policy, however, acknowledges such reviews are uncommon.



"While (admissions are) subject to review by both the senior associate dean for education and by the dean, college of medicine, in practice this does not occur," the document states.



The document goes on to note, however, that there is precedent for a dean overruling the committee.



In 2002, the "college administration" reversed a committee decision, "admitting an applicant without committee endorsement," the letter says.



Anticipating a renewed inquiry from UF's accrediting agency about the 2002 admissions case, Dr. Ira Gessner, chairman of the Medical Selection Committee, sent an e-mail to administrators about the decision. The circumstances as described by Gessner indicate the involvement of Dr. Craig Tisher, former dean of UF's medical school, in a 2002 admissions case. Unlike the case with Kone, however, Tisher did not overrule the committee, according to Gessner.



As Gessner tells it, a student who was rejected for an interview appealed the decision to Tisher. Reviewing her materials, Tisher said he thought the student deserved an interview. The interview was granted, but Tisher had no further involvement, according to Gessner. Those who interviewed the student weren't ever told Tisher had requested that the interview take place, Gessner wrote. After the interview, the applicant won the support of the committee, Gessner said.



"The applicant received a favorable recommendation from the committee and subsequently received an offer of admission," Gessner wrote. "The individual entered UF College of Medicine and graduated without incident."



Gessner has not returned e-mails and phone calls asking for comment throughout the process of reporting for this story.



Even if there's a history of deans influencing admissions, Kone's critics may not be silenced. Brandon Sack, a Ph.D. student in the college who met with Kone to discuss the issue, said he was still disappointed in the dean's actions even after learning there may have been some history of influence.



"I still do think he was out of line to overturn the Medical Selection Committee, even though it may not necessarily be an end-all for accreditation, and even though it may be in line with university guidelines," Sacks said. "I still don't think it was appropriate."





Jack Stripling can be reached at 352-374-5064 or Jack.Stripling@gvillesun.com.