“The General Assembly of the Faculty of Medicine of Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski“ was a necessary step towards putting our faculty on a solid upward foundation again. It will put an end to the problems we have encountered in recent months“, said Corresponding Member Ivo Petrov – professor in the Department of Internal Medicine, Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacology, Pediatrics, Epidemiology, Infectious and Skin Diseases.
His words come days after the supreme collective governing body of the Medical Faculty reconfirmed its vote from June and re-elected Prof. Dr. Genoveva Zlateva as Dean, which once again showed the preference consistently expressed in recent months by the majority of the faculty's academic community.
The meeting was convened by the Rector of Sofia University, Prof. Dr. Eliza Stefanova, was held according to lists of its members prepared in advance by the Rectorate and in the presence of a representative of the Rector's leadership - the functional deputy rector for academic staff, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Simeon Groysman.
All this was done in order to end the management crisis in which the Faculty of Medicine had been since the beginning of the year. Since then, two consecutive decisions of the General Assembly have been challenged, which blocked the work of the faculty. Temporary management was appointed in place of the elected deans. This created severe institutional instability and led to sharp dissatisfaction among the lecturers, with the majority of them, together with representatives of the students, doctoral students and the administration at the faculty, coming out with the position that the vote for the dean of the democratic academic community is being replaced and the legality is being grossly violated.
Now, after the long period of temporary management, the lecturers welcome the election of Prof. Zlateva with the hope that the Faculty of Medicine will finally be able to return to normal academic self-government, a functioning Faculty Council and a sustainable management vision. This is also particularly important for student education, which should be among the main priorities along with scientific work, the development of preclinical and clinical facilities and the normal functioning of the faculty.
“It is high time to stop attempts to undermine the prestige of the Faculty of Medicine, so that it can function normally and the educational process is not hindered“, said Dr. Ignat Vassilev – assistant professor at the Department of Surgical Diseases, Obstetrics and Gynecology.
The meeting of the General Assembly on September 30 did not pass without debates. The Nominations Committee considered three candidacies. Prof. Genoveva Zlateva, who was elected at the previous general assembly, was again proposed for dean. The previous one, appointed despite the decision of the democratic community for the temporary position of dean, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yordanka Uzunova, also expressed a desire to continue to hold this post. However, the Nomination Committee found that Uzunova's candidacy did not meet the requirements of the Regulations on the Organization and Activities of Sofia University, and that the submitted documents were incomplete. Thus, the issue of admitting Assoc. Prof. Uzunova was put to an open vote by the General Assembly itself. She did not receive the necessary support from the community.
In the ensuing discussion, the former Acting Dean Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dorina Asenova called on the General Assembly to admit the candidacy regardless of the restrictions of the university regulations. After hearing the different positions, the academic community reaffirmed its decision by voting, thus complying with the regulatory requirements for candidacies.
Many of the delegates expressed surprise at why they had to vote twice for the same thing. Among them was Dr. Diana Lekova-Nikova – pulmonologist, assistant professor of the Department of Internal Medicine, Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacology, Pediatrics, Epidemiology, Infectious and Skin Diseases.
The third candidacy was that of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Lyudmila Belenska, announced by herself during the procedure. She participated in the election and accepted with dignity the result of the secret ballot, in which the majority of the General Assembly once again gave its trust to Prof. Genoveva Zlateva.
„We hope that finally the will of the community will be recognized as an official choice, we are glad that representatives of the Sofia University leadership were also present. This should now be final,“ said Dr. Nikova, expressing the opinion of the majority of the delegates.
After the election of the Dean, the General Assembly also completed the composition of the Faculty Council, which created the prerequisites for the restoration of the regular functioning of the collective governing bodies of the Faculty of Medicine. With this, the academic community at the Faculty of Medicine of Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski“ hopes that the education of the hundreds of students there will continue peacefully, while still guaranteeing the quality of education of future doctors and nurses.