Schools

Update: Editor Who Resigned Suddenly from Iowa Student Newspaper Responds

Was a recent story the impetus for Adam Sullivan's departure?

Updated at noon:

Adam Sullivan, the editor-in-chief of University of Iowa's independent student newspaper, the Daily Iowan, offered his first response following his sudden resignation this week.

Few answers have been given as to why he resigned, but the story below highlights a sequence of events surrounding the resignation.

Find out what's happening in Iowa Citywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Here is what Sullivan said in a statement provided to Iowa City Patch:

"While it's unfortunate that my time at The Daily Iowan ended early, I'm proud of what I've accomplished there over the last four years. I have every confidence that the staff I put in place will continue to see success the rest of this year and beyond. I look forward to continuing my journalistic career elsewhere."

Find out what's happening in Iowa Citywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Previous coverage:

More questions than answers remain following the sudden departure of Adam Sullivan, the editor-in-chief of University of Iowa's independent student newspaper, the Daily Iowan.

Sullivan, a UI student from Iowa City, with just a month and a half remaining in his stint as editor, which is the top position at the student-run newspaper.

However, the timing of events preceding Sullivan's resignation may lend some light on the matter.

On Tuesday, the Daily Iowan published this story on an increase of meth burn cases being treated at the . However, the paper ran a front page correction the following day.

According to the correction published by the , photos of people that ran with the story were not of meth burn victims treated at the UIHC, but instead were mug shots from the of individuals with methamphetamine charges. The concern was that some may infer those people had been treated UIHC.

After the story appeared, UIHC administrators sent out an email to hospital staff, which was shared with Iowa City Patch, in which they defended the hospital's actions in participating in the article.

It was reported by the paper that Sullivan resigned Tuesday, the same day the article appeared, due to "personnel issues," but did not elaborate further. When contacted for this story, Daily Iowan publisher Bill Casey and Sullivan had no comment Thursday.

Here is the text of the email:

This message is being sent on behalf of Jean Robillard, MD, Vice President for Medical Affairs; Paul Rothman, MD, Dean of the UI Carver College of Medicine; and Ken Kates, CEO, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, and Associate Vice President, UI Health Care. 

We are writing you today to alleviate any concerns you may have regarding an article that appeared yesterday in The Daily Iowan that was headlined “UIHC meth lab-burn numbers up.” 

We want to state unequivocally that none of our colleagues committed a breach of patient confidentiality.

Here are the facts: 

1.)   Lucy Wibbenmeyer, MD, provided an interview to the reporter, Dora Grote. Ms. Grote did not ask Dr. Wibbenmeyer for patient names, nor for images of any patients treated here in the Burn Treatment Center for meth-related burn injuries.

2.)   Ms. Grote turned in her story without patient names or images. An editor took it upon himself to contact the Iowa City Police Department and obtain mug shots of people arrested for meth-related offenses. Those were the names and images that appeared in yesterday’s edition of the DI, even though there was no indication that these people have ever been patients here.

3.)   The Daily Iowan printed a correction in today’s edition. In conclusion, we are confident that our faculty and staff acted appropriately.

Thank you all for your continued dedication to safeguarding our patients’ confidentiality. 

Iowa City Patch contacted University of Iowa spokesman Tom Moore about the letter.

This was part of the exchange:

Iowa City Patch: "The timing of this e-mail would suggest that Sullivan's resignation was connected to this story. Would you be able to comment on whether anyone with UIHC exerted influence on removing Sullivan from his position as editor? Or even the extent to which they may have expressed their disapproval of the story to the Daily Iowan?"

Moore: "No one associated with the university exerts any influence whatsoever over personnel decisions made by The Daily Iowan, which is an independent entity."

"The sole purpose of any discussion about this matter between representatives of UI Health Care and the leadership of the DI was to request a correction of the errors that appeared in Tuesday’s edition."


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Iowa City