Press Release

July 25, 2006
Contact: Anna Farneski
(973) 972-3000
farnesam@umdnj.edu

UMDNJ BOARD HIRES NEW CHIEF ETHICS, COMPLIANCE OFFICER
- Michael R. Clarke, Esq. to Oversee New Compliance Office -

NEW BRUNSWICK – The Board of Trustees of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey unanimously voted today to hire Michael R. Clarke, Esq., to head the newly created position of Vice President/Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer.

Clarke, an attorney with a background in corporate compliance and ethics, will join the University on August 14.

“Today we take yet another critical step in building an ethics and compliance structure that will turn the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey into a national model of excellence,” said Board Chairman Robert Del Tufo. "I have full confidence that as Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer, Michael Clarke will uphold the highest standards of integrity and professionalism. We welcome him.”

Clarke most recently held the position of Vice President for Corporate Compliance at Edison Schools, Inc., in New York City.

“In my role as Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer, we will advance the concept that ethical conduct should always be engrained in any and all aspects of our business operations,” said Clarke. “On my watch, we will strengthen UMDNJ’s ethics and compliance program to ensure that ethical business practices permeate the entire institution and that everyone at UMDNJ understands the importance of always complying with the rules that apply to job performance and of adhering to the highest ethical standards.”

As Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer, Clarke will oversee a new Office of Compliance, for which UMDNJ is in the process of hiring 28 individuals for various compliance functions system wide that include 17 new compliance officers and investigators to be assigned throughout the University, including University Hospital, as well as the hiring of billing and coding officers.

The office was created as part of a system-wide overhaul of compliance and ethics functions earlier this year that began with a review of the University’s ethics program by UMDNJ Board Trustee Oliver Quinn, who is chief ethics officer for Prudential Financial.

In addition, a new work plan was developed and implemented for the Compliance Office, along with a plan for immediate and long-range goals, and a Plain Language Guide for Ethical Standards was approved and disseminated to the UMDNJ community.

Clarke also served previously as Ethics Officer and Assistant Counsel at Medco Health Solutions, Inc. He was a partner at the law firm of Drinker Biddle & Reath of Florham Park, and at the firm of Shanley & Fisher of Morristown. Clarke also served as an Assistant Deputy Public Defender in the Essex County Public Defender’s Office.

After earning an undergraduate degree at Brown University, Clarke received his law degree from Cornell Law School. He is vice-chair of the American Bar Association’s Corporate Compliance Committee and co-chair of the Investigations Subcommittee; secretary of the Legal Services Foundation of Essex County; a trustee of the Essex County Bar Association; and director of the Garden State Bar Association.

Clarke resides in Orange with his wife and two sons.

UMDNJ is the nation’s largest free-standing public health sciences university with more than 5,500 students attending the state's three medical schools, its only dental school, a graduate school of biomedical sciences, a school of health related professions, a school of nursing and a school of public health on five campuses. Annually, there are more than two million patient visits at UMDNJ facilities and faculty at campuses in Newark, New Brunswick/Piscataway, Scotch Plains, Camden and Stratford. UMDNJ operates University Hospital, a Level I Trauma Center in Newark, and University Behavioral HealthCare, a mental health and addiction services network.