Beckerle ousted at Huntsman Cancer Institute as University of Utah asserts control over center’s funds; Founder Jon Huntsman declares war on university leaders

By Paul Goldberg

On Monday, April 17, Mary Beckerle opened her email and learned that she is no longer the CEO and director of the University of Utah’s Huntsman Cancer Institute.

The highly-respected scientist and executive, credited with earning Huntsman the comprehensive cancer center designation from NCI in 2015, was fired via an email from Vivian Lee, senior vice president for health sciences, and David Pershing, president of the University of Utah.

No reason for the firing was given. The cancer center wasn’t bleeding cash. It was making money, adding millions of dollars to the war chest Beckerle would be able to use to grow the programs and recruit clinicians and scientists.

Three days earlier, on April 14, members of the cancer center’s external advisory board came to Huntsman for a visit and found nothing to worry about, at least as far as the center’s programs were concerned. A glowing report is being drafted, the advisors say.

It appears that Beckerle’s success was precisely the problem.

She was fired in the middle of negotiations in which the University of Utah was vying to exert control over the center’s operations and its funds, insiders say. The firing caused an uproar among the faculty and outrage from members of the powerful Huntsman family, who have, in effect, declared war on the university officials.