A little over a month before Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) CEO and Director Mary Beckerle was dismissed by University of Utah President David Pershing and Senior Vice President of Health Science, Vivian Lee, a new memorandum of understanding for the operations of the institute was drafted. It was signed by Jon Huntsman, Sr. and his son Peter Huntsman in their capacities as Chairman and CEO of Huntsman Cancer Foundation, the charity that provides much of the funding to HCI.
It went unsigned by President Pershing, according to documents obtained by the Deseret News.
The memorandum says that there had been disagreements between the Huntsmans and the University regarding the funding, leadership, and future direction for the institute.