Levine to Step Down as Associate Vice Chair for Women’s Careers in Academic Medicine

We are in search of our next associate vice chair for women’s careers in academic medicine and chair of the DOM Task Force on Women's Academic Careers in Medicine as Dr. Rachel Levine will step down effective July 1, 2021.

Dr. Levine developed a passion for enhancing faculty teaching skills and promoting the academic success of educators early in her career. She has vast experience designing and facilitating programs aimed at promoting the development of scholarly educators and leaders in medical education. Her scholarly work has explored the key experiences of women in academic medicine with the goal of increasing opportunities for women to realize their full potential.

Already a prominent leader in the Department of Medicine and chair of the Task Force on Women's Academic Careers in Medicine, Dr. Levine was the natural choice for our first associate vice chair for women’s careers in academic medicine when the role was created in 2015. Since then, she has met regularly with faculty to provide mentoring and career coaching, raised awareness about sponsorship in academic medicine through the DOM Sponsorship Award, enhanced recruitment efforts for the residency programs, ensured that salary equity was a top priority for the DOM and played an active role in providing review and feedback on faculty CVs during the division review process. After demonstrating success in this area, Dr. Levine was named associate dean for faculty educational development for the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 2017.

During this Women’s History Month, which commemorates the vital role of women in American history, we are thankful for the efforts of Dr. Levine and the Task Force on Women's Academic Careers in Medicine for advocating for women and prioritizing equity among our faculty. As more and more women enter the field of medicine and engage in leadership roles, we need to continue to address structural contributors of inequity and the impact of implicit bias on women’s daily experiences in academic medicine. With the COVID-19 pandemic, we saw women disproportionally affected by job loss and child care responsibilities—a reminder that no matter how far we have come, we still have further to go. “We need to continue to work on valuing differences and creating inclusive environments, which will require addressing existing hierarchies and ensuring that all voices are welcomed in the discussion,” said Dr. Levine.

We’d like to express our gratitude to Dr. Levine for the important work she has done in advancing women’s careers both within our department and in the greater medical community. She will step down to devote more time to her role as associate vice dean in the Office of Faculty Development. After leading the Task Force on Women’s Academic Careers for seven years, she looks forward to the possibilities new leadership can bring.

If you are interested in applying, please see the request for applications here.

Applications should be submitted by Friday, April 16.