Letter Raises Concerns About Decision by OHSU Medical School Dean

A letter to Oregon Health & Science University leadership calls for a comprehensive review of the decision to demote a widely respected family medicine doctor from her position running a major department at the school.

Signed by more than 200 people, including numerous OHSU faculty, the letter obtained by WW airs a conflict that has been brewing at the medical center for days between a group of employees and Dr. Nathan Selden, the dean of the OHSU School of Medicine.

The letter is addressed to Selden’s higher-ups: OHSU President Dr. Shereef Elnahal and the OHSU Board of Directors.

It raises concerns about Selden’s leadership, saying his “shocking,” “ill-conceived” decision to remove Dr. Jennifer DeVoe for her position as chair of the OHSU Department of Family Medicine was done without transparency or a succession plan, and sends a worrying signal about OHSU’s commitments.

“The abruptness of the action, the absence of explanation, and lack of transition plan raise significant concerns about process, direction, and leadership integrity,” the letter says. “We write this letter as Dr. DeVoe’s colleagues and healthcare leaders who care deeply about Family Medicine and worry about the impacts ahead.”

DeVoe’s removal, the letter adds, “will be felt by faculty and staff as well as patients, learners, and communities across Oregon and beyond.”

Selden, a neurosurgeon, was appointed dean in 2024 by former OHSU president Dr. Danny Jacobs. (He was briefly floated as president when Jacobs resigned.) The OHSU communications team said in an Thursday morning email that Selden was not available for an interview. But it reiterated an earlier comment it made thanking DeVoe for her service, and stating that OHSU’s family medicine department will continue to receive strong support from the highest levels of the institution.

DeVoe, a family medicine doctor, did not immediately respond to a question, and previously declined to comment. In an internal email last weekend, she told the department that it was Selden’s decision to remove her from the chair position. She said her other work at OHSU would continue once her chair tenure ends.

With 200-plus employed faculty and hundreds more volunteer faculty around the state, the OHSU family medicine program is one of the university’s largest and most public facing, providing primary care services for tens of thousands of Oregonians and training dozens of residents at a time. The letter says the department is nationally respected and operationally strong.

DeVoe has led the department for a decade, and the letter notes her accomplishments and advocacy for the cause of primary care. It says she is a “widely trusted, respected, and valued leader with an impeccable track record of success over her decade of service as department chair.”

It adds, “the signal from her sudden removal will be noticed with deep concern by faculty, learners, community partners, and local and national leadership watching OHSU’s commitments closely.”

Signatories mostly hail from the OHSU family medicine department, though some work in other departments or in the medical profession outside OHSU.

They make several demands. The first is a “comprehensive review of decisions leading to Dr. DeVoe’s removal as department chair.”

They also request new leadership processes that “exemplify transparency, respect, and collaboration.” And they want OHSU leadership to commit to appointing a new chair “that understands and respects our shared values in family medicine.”

The letter ends with an appeal to Elnahal, a new university president at who it says has articulated a vision of a bright future for OHSU and health care access in Oregon.

Signatories say they are eager to actualize Elnahal’s vision. “We must begin by growing trust.”