Return to Main Menu

Heard a rumor? New Web site has answers Heard a good one lately? Is it true? The MUSC Rumor Mill is officially open for business. You can read the rumors that others have posted or, if within established guidelines, post one yourself. The Rumor Mill is located on the Medical University's Web  site at <http://www.musc.edu/rumor/>. “With 9000 employees and 2,500 students, the Medical University is constantly abuzz with conversation,” said MUSC President Ray Greenberg, M.D., Ph.D., in his message on the site's home page. “Our goal is to help everybody within the MUSC family sort out the fact from the fiction.” The site went online Nov. 16. At presstime Tuesday, four rumors had been posted and four responses had been made. The Rumor Mill’s development was spearheaded by the Internet subcommittee of the MUSC Communications Council. At the direction of Greenberg, the committee investigated Web-based tools that could be used to improve the university's internal communications. An employee sent Greenberg an e-mail message describing an Internet site hosted by the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) called Rumors and Trumors. After corresponding with UTMB, the committee, with the help of Christopher Zorn in the ITLab, developed a prototype and presented it to the President's Council, where it subsequently won approval. Guidelines were established and protocols were set for answering the submissions. The guidelines for submitting to the Rumor Mill are as follows: Since this site is intended to address internal issues, only MUSC faculty, staff and students may submit queries. All permissible submissions will be answered on a priority basis; that is, inquiries having the greatest campuswide impact will be answered before others dealing with more local issues. Rumors discrediting individuals will not be addressed. Although anonymous submissions are welcome, signed submissions will be given priority in an effort to support open and honest communication without fear of retribution. The names of those who sign their inquiries will be kept confidential, and every effort will be made when appropriate to notify them of the identity of the responder—unattributed responses likely will be from the President's Office. Please keep one rumor per submission—if you have multiple rumors, please submit each one individually. Every effort will be made to be as prompt as possible, but please be patient; some rumors will take longer to track down than others. For those who do not have access to a computer, Rumor Mill collection boxes will be stationed around campus at: lobby of Harborview Office Tower; Main Hospital cafeteria register line; and Public Relations, room 106 of the Library/Administration Building.