Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) today announced President and Chief Executive Officer Jay S. Feldstein, DO '81, as the recipient of the American Osteopathic Association’s (AOA) 2021 Diversity,
Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Unification Award. This inaugural award recognizes exemplary
leadership and commitment to promoting and advancing DEI initiatives in the osteopathic
community. The award will presented during a virtual ceremony on Saturday, October
23, from 9-10 a.m. during the Osteopathic Medical Education Conference.
“I am honored and humbled to be the first recipient of this award,” said Feldstein. “PCOM has made tremendous strides in our effort to create a more diverse and inclusive campus community, but we know our work must continue – as individuals and as a college – to truly achieve greater equity.”
Feldstein, who has led the College since 2014, has overseen a number of policies, programs and other initiatives during his tenure to foster a more diverse and inclusive environment for students, faculty and staff. In June 2020, Dr. Feldstein announced the formation of 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. The College also recently launched the 2025 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategic Plan to embed diversity, equity and inclusion in its 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 with competitive and fair compensation.
Among Dr. Feldstein's other notable accomplishments:
Dr. Feldstein has engaged an external consultant, Path Forward, to lead a series of trainings for all members of the executive leadership team on topics focused on: unconscious bias, race in the workplace, allyship, inclusive leadership and generational diversity.
Dr. Feldstein hired Adrianne Jones, MLS, as the College's Chief Admissions Officer in April 2020 to help transform the admissions process for future osteopathic physicians from underrepresented minorities in medicine (URM), adopting a holistic approach aligned with the osteopathic philosophy.
In addition to AOA award, PCOM was also recently named the recipient of 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 HEED Award—a national honor recognizing U.S. colleges and universities that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion—PCOM will be featured in the November 2021 issue of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine. This is the seventh year PCOM has been named as a Health Professions HEED Award recipient.
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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