June 2, 2010

The Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine® (ELAM) Program for Women at Drexel University College of Medicine has selected 54 senior women faculty for the 2010-2011 class of fellows. ELAM® is the only national program dedicated to preparing senior women faculty for leadership at academic health centers. The new fellows join a diverse community of leaders and represent over 50 medical, dental, and public health schools from across the United States and Canada.

“Our 16th class of fellows is exceptional for their leadership experience and academic accomplishments. We look forward to being part of their learning and growth as leaders over the coming years,” said Diane Magrane, MD, director of Drexel University College of Medicine’s International Center for Executive Leadership in Academics, which hosts the ELAM program.

“The ELAM fellowship experience is like no other professional development program for academic faculty. It embeds the learning about strategic organizational change and finance into each fellow’s daily organizational work. It provides unique opportunities for self-reflection, application of new skills, and entry into a network of women leaders eager to support each other’s advancement.”

The ELAM curriculum adapts lessons in executive management and institutional leadership, such as strategic finance, organizational dynamics, and personal and professional effectiveness, to the academic health center environment. The work begins in May with online assignments and community building activities that continue through the end of the program in April 2011. Fellows begin the first of three week-long in-residence sessions when they meet at the ACE Conference Center in Lafayette Hill, Pa., on Sept. 25.

“ELAM’s success relies upon the powerful partnerships that have developed among the program participants and faculty, its strong network of alumnae and the institutional leaders that provide continuing support,” acknowledges Magrane. During their year with ELAM, fellows gain a broader and deeper knowledge of the challenges facing academic health centers through meetings with national leaders in the field, interactions with their peers in the program, and interviews with a wide range of senior officers at their own institutions. Mentorship is a key force in enriching the fellows’ departmental and institutional growth. 

ELAM’s mission is to increase the number of women in senior academic leadership positions. From there, these new appointments would help change the culture of academic health organizations in becoming more accepting of different perspectives and more responsive to societal needs and expectations. Some 20 percent of its 623 graduates currently serve in the highest-level leadership ranks, from associate dean through university president, including:

• Four of the 15 current women deans at U.S. medical schools
• Six of the 12 women deans at U.S. dental schools
• Two of 12 women deans at U.S. public health schools
• In medical schools, 27percent of women holding the position of department chairs and 29 percent holding positions of associate and vice deans are ELAM graduates.

ELAM is a core program of the Institute for Women’s Health and Leadership® at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, Pa. The Institute continues the legacy of advancing women in medicine that began in 1850 with the founding of the Female Medical College of Pennsylvania, the nation’s first women’s medical school and a predecessor of today’s Drexel University College of Medicine.