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Communications from William T. Solomon to Southwestern Medical Foundation Trustees,

Honorary Trustees, Staff and Special Friends, regarding Dallas Morning News coverage from

the week of April 22

To: Southwestern Medical Foundation Trustees, Honorary Trustees, Staff, and Special Friends

From: Bill Solomon; Chairman, Southwestern Medical Foundation

You undoubtedly read in this mornings newspaper about the UT System report which was

released yesterday to the media and which alleges that Kern Wildenthal exercised questionable

judgment with respect to expensing and documenting reimbursements for travel and

entertainment in connection with his various roles at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Though

the Foundation is not involved in any of the allegations, the coverage quoted UT Southwestern

President Daniel K. Podolsky as saying that Kern will not continue to serve as President of

Southwestern Medical Foundation in the future.

All of this broke yesterday afternoon with the UT Systems release of its report. Late in the

afternoon, I was contacted by a reporter at the Dallas Morning News, who asked for mycomments. In response, I gave her a statement, including the following:

The UT System report and the news coverage which will undoubtedly ensue is unfortunate

indeed, because (1) it is my understanding that Dr. Wildenthal did not have the opportunity to

fully respond to the report before it was published; (2) after years of close association with Kern

over many years, I and others have seen nothing less than the highest order of integrity and

ethical conduct on his part; and (3) Dr. Wildenthal deserves considerable benefit of the doubt in

this matter by virtue of his remarkable accomplishments on behalf of UT Southwestern over 22

years as its president, during which he led the development of a young regional medical school

into one of the nation's leading academic medical centers and raised unprecedented levels of

philanthropic support to make that possible.

I further told the reporter that Kern remains President of Southwestern Medical Foundation.

Dr. Podolskys statement yesterday was meant to convey the fact that Kerns status with the

Foundation and/or UT Southwestern will likely change at some point as a result of the

UT Regents having decided that they want him not to continue to be CEO of the Foundation

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while being also a full-time faculty member. Thus, details will need to be determined among

UT Southwestern, the Foundation, and Kern concerning the orderly resolution of this issue.

In my view, this whole matter is a tragic tempest in a teapot. I am convinced that Kern always

believed, and still does, that he never failed to comply fully with the UT Systems prevailing

policies and practices with respect to his travel and entertainment expenses. Others, whoreviewed his expense reporting at the time, agreed.

Now, in the face of media attention and criticism, the UT System appears to be moving the goal

posts relative to where Kern understood them to be, and both the UT System and the media

are taking him to task based on a re-assessed standard for what is reimbursable and in how

much detail its business purposes should be documented. Moreover, it seems to me that the

UT Systems position and the media scrutiny are very badly lacking an appropriate sense of

proportionality; i.e., due consideration of the amounts of money involved in the expense

reports that are now being questioned relative to the far greater magnitude and importance of

Kerns over-all activities, budgets and responsibilities.

There may or may not be room for criticism of the way Kern handled some of his expenses over

a period of many years. But all things considered, it is tragic and terribly wrong that Kern is now

being crucified for this in the public forum near the end of a uniquely remarkable and

praiseworthy career of leadership and service.

I trust that you join me and thousands of others with strong support of Kern during this most

difficult hour, full confidence in his long-demonstrated unimpeachable integrity, deeply-felt

gratitude for his remarkable service to UT Southwestern and the community, and an

expectation that he will continue to be fully available to us all to contribute his many talents to

the ongoing development of UT Southwestern and to its patients and the communities itserves.

Bill Solomon