UMass Brass Engages in Verbal Catfight at Medical School

Academia never seemed like the kind of setting for straight-up catfights, but UMass appears to be the exception. Not everyone is happy with the shakeup of the state's education system, which involved UMB chancellor Michael Collins moving to U-Mass-Worcester to be interim medical school chancellor and Keith Motley taking his spot.

Yesterday, at the UMass medical school, physiology professor John Walsh and deputy medical school chancellor Richard Stanton let off some steam.

Walsh had said in an interview that UMass president Jack Wilson hi-jacked the chancellor selection process by not opening up the search for the medical school chancellor and bringing in Collins, an insider: "[The move] smacks of the same cronyism that put Billy Bulger in charge of the university, that put Marty Meehan in at Lowell."

Them's fighting words. Walsh attempted to engage Wilson face to face, but Stanton stepped in and told Walsh, "You are offensive as a faculty member. Your tenure has outlived your usefulness." Meow!

Blue Mass Group is asking a pertinent question following this behavior – "WTF is up with UMass?"

Image of academic catfight from Worcester Telegram & Gazette, which we're borrowing because we had to illustrate said catfight somehow, and Walsh's official photo at the UMass medical school website didn't suggest he could get so agitated. Walsh is the one pointing the finger.