Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) today received the 2021 Health Professions Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education. As a recipient of the annual Health Professions HEED Award—a national honor recognizing U.S. health colleges and universities that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion—PCOM will be featured, along with 50 other recipients, in the December 2021 issue of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine. This is the seventh year PCOM has been named as a Health Professions HEED Award recipient.
“PCOM is committed to cultivating an inclusive and diverse campus community,” said
Marcine Pickron-Davis, PhD, chief diversity and community relations officer. “Over the last year, we have made
significant progress to embed diversity, equity and inclusion in our policies, processes
and practices, and are honored to be recognized for those efforts. There is still
more work to be done, but we will continue to push forward with our efforts to achieve
greater equity.”
INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine selected PCOM for its strong commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion and its numerous programs supporting these efforts. Notable accomplishments include forming the President's Council on Equity, Inclusion and Justice, a cross-campus coalition created to advance PCOM's commitment to justice, equity, diversity and inclusion. In addition, PCOM launched the 2025 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategic Plan to embed diversity, equity and inclusion in the College’s curriculum, policies, processes and practices to advance student, faculty and staff performance as well as excellence in PCOM’s service to communities. These efforts include continued and enhanced pointed recruitment and retention of students underrepresented in medicine and a strong commitment to hiring and retaining more minority faculty and guest lecturers across all programs.
“The Health Professions HEED Award process consists of a comprehensive and rigorous application that includes questions relating to the recruitment and retention of students and employees—and best practices for both—continued leadership support for diversity, and other aspects of campus diversity and inclusion,” said Lenore Pearlstein, publisher of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine. “We take a detailed approach to reviewing each application in deciding who will be named a Health Professions HEED Award recipient. Our standards are high, and we look for schools where diversity and inclusion are woven into the work being done every day across their campus.”
For the past 125 years, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) has trained thousands of highly competent, caring physicians, health practitioners and behavioral scientists who practice a “whole person” approach to care—treating people, not just symptoms. PCOM, a private, not-for-profit accredited institution of higher education, operates three campuses (PCOM, PCOM Georgia and PCOM South Georgia) and offers doctoral degrees in clinical psychology, educational psychology, osteopathic medicine, pharmacy, physical therapy, and school psychology. The college also offers graduate degrees in applied behavior analysis, applied positive psychology, biomedical sciences, forensic medicine, medical laboratory science, mental health counseling, physician assistant studies, and school psychology. PCOM students learn the importance of health promotion, research, education and service to the community. Through its community-based Healthcare Centers, PCOM provides care to medically underserved populations. For more information, visit pcom.edu or call 215-871-6100.
Brandon Lausch
Executive Director, Strategic Communications
Email: brandonla@pcom.edu
Office: 215-871-6312 | Cell:
717-371-0609
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