Drexel University College of Medicine is proud to announce that Margaret Larkins-Pettigrew, MD, MEd, MPPM, has been appointed academic chair of the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, effective July 1. Dr. Larkins-Pettigrew brings experience as a clinician, educator and national leader to her new role.
Dr. Larkins-Pettigrew joined the College of Medicine in 2021 as a professor of obstetrics and gynecology, and also supervises students and residents at Highmark Health and Allegheny Health Network (AHN). Since 2020, she has been AHN’s senior vice president, enterprise chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer, and clinical inclusion strategist. In addition to these roles, she continues a general gynecology practice.
She serves on the AAMC Group on Diversity and Inclusion and has been listed in Becker’s Hospital Review’s 149 Black Healthcare Leaders to Know, as well as being named a Modern Healthcare Top Diversity Leader in 2021 and 2022. She has also been awarded funding for projects pertaining to racial bias training for pregnancy providers and staff, underrepresented resident retention, medical school preparation for high school students, and reducing infant mortality through structural racism and unconscious bias training.
A prolific and highly sought-after speaker, Dr. Larkins-Pettigrew has presented in local, national and international settings on a range of topics including the impact of the pandemic on Black people worldwide, maternal and neonatal mortality, global health, the epidemiology of HIV, the social determinants of health, and promoting diversity in the C-suite. She is also the author of a 2020 memoir, The Colors of My Heart: Embracing My Blackness Through History, Family, Fear, and Faith.
Dr. Larkins-Pettigrew earned her bachelor's degree in nursing from the University of Pittsburgh, followed by a master’s in education from California State University Long Beach. She then served as a critical care instructor and nurse educator for several years until she matriculated at University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine for her medical degree. After postgraduate training in obstetrics and gynecology at the Naval Hospital in Portsmouth, Virginia, and Magee Women’s Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, she became a general practitioner at the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Florida. She joined the faculty of Magee Women’s Hospital for eight years, during which time she also served as program director of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine’s Department of Global Health and Reproductive Sciences.
Dr. Larkins-Pettigrew became a faculty member at the University Hospitals MacDonald Women’s Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio, in 2010. In 2013, she was named the hospital system’s Edgar B. Jackson Jr. Chair for Clinical Excellence and Diversity, and head of the Office of Community Impact, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. In 2019, she was civil rights coordinator for the University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center. During her tenure at University Hospitals, she also served as Obstetrics & Gynecology Residency director for the University of Guyana Georgetown Public Hospital, and as assistant dean of students at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
In February 2022, Dr. Larkins-Pettigrew was a guest on the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion's podcast, “Conversations That Matter.” Listen to the episode, in which she shares insights from her career.