More dismissals in University of Minnesota leadership as tensions rise over 'secret' Fairview Health Services deal

Emmy Martin, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Nov 19, 2025

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MINNEAPOLIS — University of Minnesota administrators have fired more leaders of the doctors’ group that negotiated a controversial contract, signaling escalating tensions between Fairview Health Services and the university’s doctors.

The university removed William Sibert, chief financial officer for University of Minnesota Physicians (UMP), from his parallel role as Medical School CFO, according to Dr. Demetris Yannopoulos, a professor of medicine at the Medical School. The University of Minnesota Foundation also ended its contract with Lathrop GPM, the law firm employing UMP’s external counsel, Jennifer Bishop, he said.

These dismissals are in addition to the removal of Dr. Greg Beilman, interim CEO of UMP, from his role as interim vice president for clinical operations on Monday.

They also come in the wake of Minneapolis-based Fairview Health Services and the university doctors striking a 10-year deal — without involving top university leaders — to support physician training, academic health program and the continuation of care for more than 1 million Minnesotans.

That decision soured their relationship, with the feud spilling into the public.

Sources familiar with the dismissals of Sibert, Beilman and Bishop’s law firm characterized the maneuver as retaliatory, reflecting growing dissonance between UMP leaders and the University’s central administration, including President Rebecca Cunningham, who appointed Beilman to his vice president role earlier this year.

The university has not commented on the circumstances of the individual dismissals but said in a statement that the leadership changes were consistent with the Board’s directive and necessary to ensure alignment between the Medical School and its clinical partners.

U officials initially blasted the deal as tantamount to a “hostile takeover.”

The disputed agreement would extend the longtime partnership under the M Health Fairview brand, directing about $100 million a year to support the university’s academic health programs. Half of that funding would be fixed, with the rest tied to performance goals for the joint health system.

Fairview and the doctors’ group say the deal is “binding” and ensures stability for patients and clinicians, but university officials argue it was negotiated in secret, without their participation, and could shift control and funding away from the Medical School.

Yannopoulos said the U’s approach to the negotiations placed “1,200 physicians, their families, providers and the stability of our health care operations in a precarious position.”

The conflict has far-reaching implications for Minnesota’s largest academic health system. If the partnership fractures, both sides warn that clinical programs, funding streams and medical education could be disrupted.

“Many physicians share these concerns, but some are hesitant to speak publicly because they worry about possible repercussions,” Yannopoulos said. He added that he does not understand why Gov. Tim Walz has not offered guidance as tensions escalate, describing the conflict as “a level of internal turmoil with no clear path to a constructive outcome.”

Walz did not immediately respond with comment.

Brian Evans, a spokesman for the Attorney General Keith Ellison, said, “To preserve the continuity of patient care, recruit and retain their physicians, and provide core medical school funding needed to attract students and fund ongoing research, an agreement needed to be reached. Postponing an agreement into 2026 would put that all at risk.”

The wave of dismissals followed the University of Minnesota Board of Regents’ special meeting last week, where it ruled that UMP leadership overstepped its authority in striking the Fairview deal, directing administrators to address conflicts created by those actions.

“When the Board of Regents realized there was such a conflict, shouldn’t they have asked some physicians to stand before them and give their perspective?” Yannopoulos said.

A University spokeswoman said the changes stem from the resolution directing administrators to address “concerns resulting from the recent actions of M Physicians leadership.”

“If the University were to decertify UMP, the Medical School would be left without a viable structure to support its physicians,” he said.

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