Below is a message from Interim Nina Henderson Provost Paul E. Jensen, PhD:

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Marla J. Gold, MD, to the newly created position of Vice Provost for Community Health Care Innovation. In this new role, Dr. Gold will be responsible for optimizing community health care services, promoting population health, and coordinating health care and health science research and education within Drexel’s urban setting. Working closely with Charles Cairns, MD, dean of the College of Medicine, Dr. Gold will develop and implement a strategic vision for the enterprise — one that anticipates changes in health care and population health nationally and sets the stage for enhanced integration, facilitates and supports expansion of the health care research portfolio of the health sciences colleges and schools, and facilitates and spurs innovations in health care delivery and the inter-professional education of future health care providers. Dr. Gold will support novel linkages and programmatic changes that advance a common, multi-faceted mission of education, clinical care, research and community service for our clinical delivery system and the health sciences colleges and schools.

A proven leader, Dr. Gold has a long track record of leadership at Drexel. For over three decades, she has held multiple key positions in medicine and public health. In the 1990s, she designed and built the Partnership Practice for Comprehensive Care, an integrated system of multi-specialty care for persons with HIV/AIDS that today serves as a regional model and is housed within Drexel University College of Medicine. She also served as Dean of our School of Public Health, leading the School to its first full accreditation, along with its robust growth in research and enrollment. Over the past several years, she has served as a senior member of the faculty in the School of Public Health, teaching undergraduate, master’s and doctoral students and, more recently, directing the School’s DrPH program. She has served on the Philadelphia Board of Health for over two decades and has provided guidance to federal, state and city leaders concerning key health topics.

Dr. Gold’s knowledge of the regional health care systems, coupled with her familiarity with the Drexel health community, will allow her to bridge entities that contribute greatly to education, research and practice — all while building on Drexel’s expertise in health science and commitment to civic engagement. 

Please join me in welcoming Dr. Gold to this new and timely position.