Len Zwelling

Fathers, LeBron Gets the Standing O, Not You By Leonard Zwelling       Is this another downstream, unintended consequence of all of those soccer trophies given to every player whether his team won or not? Or is this just self-esteem run amok?       What I am talking about is a new phenomenon I had not noticed […]

Extra: A Brief Comment About Today’s Chronicle Article http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/health/article/M-D-Anderson-faces-possible-academic-censure-5535151.php By Leonard Zwelling        While the piece by Ackerman and Berger (link above) is quite good and very accurate as far as I can tell, it misses the real story, just as I initially did.        The story is not about MD Anderson’s term-tenure system which

Now, I’m Afraid! Plus D-Day and My Dad By Leonard Zwelling Luke Skywalker: I Am Not Afraid Yoda: You Will Be. You Will Be. –From The Empire Strikes Back       Yoda was right. I am afraid.       There are not a lot of constants in my life beyond my relationships with my friends and family

My Apologies, Dr. Boyd By Leonard Zwelling        In a recent blog (Why the Cancer Letter:DePinho Flap Is Silly-June 1), I outlined why I thought the most recent Cancer Letter and the events upon which it reported were not really very potent arguments against the actions of Dr. DePinho to not renew the tenure of

Wait For It By Leonard Zwelling       This post by Jake Tapper on CNN’s web site on Monday June 2 creates a whole lot of ambiguity about the latest “hero” of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The recently freed Bowe Bergdahl may or may not really deserve the laudatory attention he has received after

Why the Latest Cancer Letter:DePinho Flap is Silly By Leonard Zwelling      If it’s Friday it must be time for the weekly email from the Cancer Letter with an anti-MD Anderson headline. Yesterday was no exception.      The story this time is the fact that Dr. DePinho rejected the advice of the Promotion and Tenure

Why the VA Problem Is Not Just the Same Old Government Ineptitude By Leonard Zwelling      I did some of my internal medicine training at the Durham, NC VA. I was there when the brand new out-patient clinic opened. It was a beautiful facility, but the patients were still very difficult. While there was a

“Trigger Warnings” and The Great American Right to Offend By Leonard Zwelling http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/18/us/warning-the-literary-canon-could-make-students-squirm.html?hp&_r=0          I had no idea. Jennifer Medina reports in the NY Times (link above) on Sunday, May 18 about something called “trigger warnings.” These warnings are like the ones before most television dramas on HBO. They inform anyone about to watch a

Naming Opportunities By Leonard Zwelling      The only thing more attractive to a president of a major academic institution than a new building is a new building that is attached to the money to pay for its erection before ground is broken. Without the cash, bonds may need to be floated or reserves may need

The Common Message of Duke Medical School and the Lubavitcher Rebbe: Don’t Be Common By Leonard Zwelling       I am being challenged yet again.       Throughout my tenure as a vice president at MD Anderson, I was confronted with hostility. This is the nature of administration and being a leader within it. The faculty hated