A study recently published in the journal Academic Medicine found that, from January 2006 to June 2020, of 528 deanships at medical schools nationwide, men held 85% of permanent deanships. Additionally, those few deanships held by women are more likely to be short-term: 30% of dean roles held by women were interim only; while only 20% of the roles held by men were limited to an interim position.
Women served in fewer dean roles than men and those roles were more likely to be limited to interim only. The same study found that women last in dean roles as long as their male counterparts do and the main challenge may be convincing hiring committees to present the opportunity.
“Hiring bias against women in these upper echelons in academic medicine persists, but the cards are stacked against women long before that,” said Nancy Spector, MD, a professor and executive director of the Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine® (ELAM®) and Executive Leadership in Health Care (ELH) programs at Drexel’s College of Medicine. “ELAM and ELH help women to level the playing field and reach their full potential by not only empowering them with necessary skills, but also improving the visibility of their contributions to advance systems-level change.” “When ELAM was founded in 1995 by Dr. Page Morahan, she didn’t think that it would still be needed today. But as we approach our 30th anniversary in 2025, we see that the disparities remain and that programs like ELAM are still important and necessary.”
Designed for mid- to senior-career women in medicine to prepare them for deanships and other senior leadership roles, ELAM invites women faculty possessing the greatest potential for executive leadership at academic health centers within the next five years to complete an intensive, one-year fellowship of leadership training with extensive coaching, networking and mentoring. The one-year program consists of three, one-week in-person sessions, asynchronous and synchronous online curriculum, special events and other learning activities.
A few other programs share some of ELAM’s goals, including a program at Harvard for C-Suite hospital system leaders, the Association of American Medical Colleges’ (AAMC) three-day conference on women faculty leadership development, and the Rudi Ansbacher Advancing Women in Academic Medicine Leadership Scholars Program at University of Michigan Medical School, but ELAM is the only longitudinal leadership program in the U.S. solely for women in mid- or senior-level roles in academic medicine.
ELAM graduates, or ELUMs, like Carolyn C. Meltzer, MD, dean of the Keck School of Medicine of USC, speak highly of the program and how it helped shape their careers.
“My experience as an ELAM fellow 20 years ago was transformational,” said Meltzer. “The women leaders I have relied on from my class and the entire ELAM network have provided a powerful source of wisdom and support over the years. Achieving and maintaining a bright future for academic medicine will require equity of senior leaders – ELAM’s work is vital to ensuring we don’t leave talent on the sidelines.”
That sentiment is shared by many program ELUMs, including Debra Furr-Holden, dean of the NYU School of Global Public Health.
“ELAM was a game changer for my career and my life,” said Furr-Holden. “It got really clear when I was in the program what I was up to as a leader and I was able to unapologetically chart a path to make it happen. I also gained a forever network of colleagues and friends. I have called on other ELUMs and been called upon myself many times since completing the program in 2019. The power of women supporting other women in academic medicine is unparalleled. We are mighty and our work is not done.”
ELAM graduates hold executive positions at more than 300 academic health organizations. The program’s vast network spans more than 1,300 fellows from nine out of 10 medical schools and six out of 10 dental schools in the United States. (Typically, costs are covered by a participant’s institution or organization.) The program has expanded internationally and outside of medicine: 25 fellows have come from schools outside the United States, 68 dental, 42 public health and three pharmacy fellows have completed the ELAM curriculum. Nearly a third (30%) of fellows identify as racial or ethnic minorities.
ELAM research in peer-reviewed journals found that:
- Deans at medical and dental schools in the U.S. and Canada report positive impact of ELAM alumnae on their schools and the alumnae themselves.
- Compared to other mid-level and senior women faculty, ELAM participants are more likely to hold administrative leadership appointments, achieve full professor rank, and report leadership aspirations, education, and skill.
- Participating in ELAM improves self-reported knowledge of leadership and organizational theory, financial management, conflict management, and other skills
ELAM may play a role in steadily closing the gender gap among medical college deans — 18 ELAM graduates have been appointed to serve as medical school deans since 2021 in institutions like the University of Virginia School of Medicine and Texas A&M University College of Medicine. Overall, 63% of women medical school deans in the U.S. have graduated from ELAM, including Amy Goldberg, MD, the Marjorie Joy Katz Dean of Temple’s Lewis Katz School of Medicine—the school’s first female dean. In addition, 10 ELAM graduates have been appointed as public/population health school deans since 2021.
To meet the growing demand for leadership training, ELAM has increased its class size. While classes of 54 and 60 were once typical, the 2023-24 ELAM class boasts 95 fellows.
Last year, the team behind ELAM started a new Executive Leadership in Health Care (ELH) program – a year-long, part-time fellowship intended for women in mid-career to senior-level leadership positions in U.S. and Canadian health systems. Twenty-six fellows were in the pilot class, and the 2023-24 ELH class has 45 fellows.
“Our programs at Drexel are a major catalyst that develop leaders changing health and medicine nationwide and internationally,” said Spector. “An ever-growing network of program alumnae shows the value they bring back to their institutions and those they serve.”
Both ELAM and ELH are current-day offerings from an institution with a unique legacy of advancing women in medicine. Drexel’s College of Medicine is the successor to two institutions: Hahnemann Medical College – dating back to its original name Homeopathic Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1848 — and the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania, the first degree-granting medical school in the world for women, founded in 1850 as the Female Medical College of Pennsylvania. Now that legacy extends well beyond Drexel. In 2025, ELAM will celebrate its 30th anniversary. It’s also fitting that the year 2025 marks 175 years since the founding of Women’s Medical College.
“My ELAM experience was a transformational moment in my leadership journey, as the connections and support helped me to clarify who I was as a leader and defined my success as chair of the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at University of California, San Francisco and now as dean of Robert Wood Johnson Medical School,” said Amy P. Murtha, MD, dean of Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, and a graduate of the former Medical College of Pennsylvania and ELAM. “This exceptional program has helped move the needle to change the face of academic leadership and close the gender gap that exists in leadership circles. As we diversify the workplace, we enrich it by providing an important ‘seat at the table’ for women in decision-making positions.”
Media interested in speaking with Spector should contact Assistant Director of News & Media Relations Gregory Richter at gdr33@drexel.edu or 215.895.2614.
