Feldstein Receives AOA's DEI Unification Award for Diversity Initiatives

October 19, 2021

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:

Executive leadership DEI training

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.

Increasing opportunities

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.

New DEI programs

• Holding community gatherings to provide an intellectual space for faculty, staff and students to pause for critical reflection and honest, sometimes painful, conversations. These discussions have tasked executive leadership to develop and implement proactive action steps that foster diversity, inclusion and belonging for all members of the campus community.
• New curricular sections dedicated to disparities in health care, allocation of healthcare resources and public health issues referencing cultural, economic and ethnic concerns as well as trainings in microaggressions.
• Educational trainings and webinars for students, faculty and staff to unpack issues of racism and injustice.
• Various lecture series enhance the cultural competency skills of medical students.

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.

• Learn more about PCOM's diversity and inclusion programs.
• Learn more about Dr. Feldstein.

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