Friday, July 10, 2009

Note to Emory: A Modest Proposal

In support of Dr. Doug Bremner, blogger supreme and Professor of Psychiatry and Radiology at Emory Medical School, I hereby proclaim my own academic affiliation--namely, Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Tufts University School of Medicine.

Recently, Emory University forced Dr. Bremner to remove its name from his blog because they didn't like things that he had to say. This has resulted in two things: First, Dr. Bremner's blog quadrupled in popularity, and second, Emory is in the midst of yet another PR fiasco. See
yesterday's article in Emory's online newsletter Academic Exchange for a good rundown of this issue.

Here's my modest proposal. Between its poor handling of the
Charles Nemeroff scandal and now its fumbling over Bremner, Emory should relinquish the use of its own name on any of its official academic material.

Sarah Goodwin, who is unenviably employed as Emory's director of media relations, made the best argument for Emory giving up its name, although she was referring to Bremner in her comments. To satirically adapt her statement for the issue at hand, "Emory has been bungling high profile issues for some period of time," and “if you read Emory's pronouncements over a long period of time, you can see comments it makes that may be of concern."

The university would still be allowed to function, to educate, and to bungle, but it simply would no longer be allowed to print the name "Emory" on its buildings or stationery. Perhaps, like Bremner's blog, the school will see a quadrupling of its enrollment.

6 comments:

Marilyn Mann said...

lol

Dan said...

The academic exchange article, I counted 4 storys related to the interactions between Emory and the pharma industry.

Also, in the ethics policy story, Emory will allow for 'necessary interactions' between Emory and the pharma industry. What is a necessary interaction?

I can think of none that are necessary, except to be gifted by members of the pharma industry.

James M. La Rossa Jr. said...

Priceless, DC. Best laugh of the week. Happy weekend ... j.

localdoc said...

If they do relinquish the name, might I respectfully suggest that they adopt something more reflective of the department's mission and recent efforts... say, "Glaxo University"?

Amy Philo said...

I've been laughing for much of the day thanks to Dr. Bremner, and now you.

Anonymous said...

Have you seen how much pharma money Bremner has taken over the years? Have you taken into account many of his co-authors and their drug ties? His blog reads like a rant designed to protect his career at Emory. It's disgusting and un-academic for someone I once respected (and frequently referenced).