IOWA CITY, Iowa
Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield has withdrawn its offer
of a $15 million donation to the University of Iowa after school faculty
rejected a proposal to rename its health college after Wellmark.
Wellmark, the state’s largest health insurance company, was
interested in stamping its name on the university’s College of Public Health.
However, faculty members overwhelmingly rebuffed the idea Thursday, saying that
naming the college after an insurance company could present a conflict of
interest.
The proposal would have made the university one of the first
in the nation to rename a major academic unit after a corporation.
“We are not prepared to allow the college to be named
after a commercial enterprise,” said James Merchant, public health dean.
Merchant said he received a letter Friday from Wellmark CEO
John Forsyth withdrawing the $15 million gift.
In the letter, Forsyth said the offer would remain withdrawn
“unless and until there is unwavering support” from the college and
university to pursue the money.
