August 18, 2023

Mark B. Woodland, MS, MD, clinical professor, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, has been appointed to a new role as associate dean, advocacy and policy effective September 1, 2023.

Dr. Woodland has been a faculty member at the College of Medicine for nearly three decades, having served as OB-GYN residency program director and vice dean for graduate medical education as well as faculty for professionalism and bioethics courses. He joined Reading Hospital – Tower Health as their chair of obstetrics and gynecology in 2015 and serves as the Women’s Health Service Lead for the Tower Health Medical Group. Additionally, he was appointed by Governor Wolf in 2022 to his second term on the PA State Medical Board and currently serves as their chair.

Dr. Woodland’s leadership during his time as interim academic chair of OB-GYN for the College of Medicine helped to stabilize and ensure the continued success of the department by collaborating with our affiliates to bolster clerkships and rotations, recruiting and promoting faculty, and enhancing the student experience through leadership of interest groups and supporting fourth-year pathway activities. His regional and national leadership presence with organizations including the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), the Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics (APGO), the Council on Resident Education in Obstetrics and Gynecology (CREOG), and the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) has been invaluable to our education and training missions.

Having been recognized as a leader in graduate medical education and minimally invasive gynecologic surgery, he is also published on topics of physician resilience and burnout; interprofessional education; racism; sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics; and OB-GYN resident recruitment. He has been invited as both a plenary and keynote speaker in many academic venues and has enjoyed being part of scholarly panels and journal review boards during his career.

As associate dean of advocacy and policy, he will be tasked with collaborating with departments, affiliate institutions and practices to identify key areas for advocacy and policy development to positively impact both the academic and clinical learning environment for current and future clinicians. He will work with partners in the Offices of Faculty, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Educational Affairs, Government Relations, and Community Health & Health Equity to develop programming and processes that support advocacy and policy successes, unify clinical advocacy efforts across the regional and affiliate campuses, and promote interdisciplinary collaboration across Drexel’s colleges and schools.