A half-dozen people closely connected to the medical school who requested anonymity told The Herald that they’ve heard that between 400 and 600 of the school’s 1,200 faculty have added their names to individual copies of the petition.

The petitions are addressed to the chair of the faculty senate, Richard L. Williamson, a law professor. Williamson said last week he would not comment on how many had signed the petition because it was “an internal matter” and may never become public. He said the number of those who know how many have signed is “extremely small and none of them will talk.”

Three sources told the Herald that faculty are sending individually signed copies of the petition to the senate chair with the understanding that Williamson would not reveal their names to UM administrators.

In his letter to faculty, Goldschmidt wrote: “It is important to note that we made our painful changes last year with no negative impact on our patient care. If anything, the quality of our care has continued to improve. We are building and enhancing our world-class health system, and our relationship with Jackson Memorial Hospital is stronger than ever.”

But last month, Jackson Board Chair Marcos Lapciuc said the UM relationship in recent years has “created irreparable harm” to Jackson and has “hurt the poor” that Jackson serves — an accusation that Goldschmidt at the time called “strange.”

Lord will be leaving at the end of January. For the rest of the month, he will be working with Natoli, a former Herald executive, to make for a smooth transition while there’s a national search for a new chief operating officer, Goldschmidt said.

On Thursday, Norman Braman, a Miami civic activist who owns car dealerships, denied a rumor he was thinking of rejoining the UM board of trustees. He said he was still irate that leaders responsible for the medical school’s financial crisis have not been held accountable. “The buck doesn’t stop anywhere.”

Goldschmidt has had his eight-bedroom South Dade house on the market for the past several months. He and wife Emily paid $3.4 million for the property in 2006; they’re asking $3.6 million. County property records indicate it has a market value of $2.2 million.

“The sale of the house is a private matter,” UM spokeswoman Lisa Worley said. “They’re trying to move his mother-in-law to Miami.”