The University of California, San Francisco fired dean David Kessler on Thursday, after he refused a request to resign earlier in the year.

In announcements about the firing on Friday, Kessler and the university noted that he had raised questions about the school's finances, but that the university had denied there were any improprieties. In June, the school asked him to step down by January 1, but he refused. After his firing, Kessler gave several newspapers evidence of financial irregularities.

I have to admit I'm a bit unclear on what's really going on here, and I'd like to hear more from any of our readers at UCSF, or others who have information on the circumstances surrounding Kessler's departure. Feel free to comment on this blog here, anonymously or not.

Sam Hawgood, the medical school's chair of pediatrics, will serve as interim dean, the university said Friday. Kessler is a tenured pediatrician and epidemiologist and will remain at the medical school. He was a high-profile commissioner of the FDA from 1990 to 1997, and then dean of Yale's medical school until 2003.