Meharry Medical College School of Medicine names Dr. Harris-Haywood as new School of Medicine dean

Sonja Harris-Haywood, M.D., M.S., MA, has been appointed dean of the Meharry Medical College School of Medicine. Harris-Haywood will advance Meharry’s mission to serve the underserved by leading, innovating and growing the College’s medical education and training curriculum and programs.

“Dr. Harris-Haywood’s achievements in multidisciplinary clinical research and curriculum, as well as her emphasis on teaching basic science from a clinical perspective, make her the perfect dean for our ever-evolving medical school,” said James E.K. Hildreth, Ph.D., M.D., president and CEO of Meharry Medical College. “For nearly 150 years, Meharry has been committed to creating a more diverse health care workforce and developing the next generation of providers who will serve underserved and minority populations. Dr. Harris-Haywood will work with her skilled faculty and Meharry leadership to create and fulfill a vision for educational success that will further Meharry’s work around the world.”

Harris-Haywood comes to Meharry from Northeast Ohio Medical University College of Medicine (NEOMED), where she served as associate dean of curriculum integration and one of the key leaders that drove the transformation, implementation and assessment of a new medical school curriculum that integrated medical and clinical sciences. As Meharry Dean of the School of Medicine, Harris-Haywood will lead strategic initiatives and long-term planning as well as oversee curriculum development, institutional assessment and improvement, and faculty development and performance to further the College’s mission of advancing health equity locally, nationally and globally.

Prior to her position as associate dean of curriculum at NEOMED, Harris-Haywood served as its senior associate dean and the director of its Partnership for Urban Health and Primary Care. In this role, she worked to recruit, educate and retain a minority physician workforce to practice in underserved communities. Under her leadership, the partnership worked to graduate diverse students committed to practicing in primary care throughout urban areas of Cleveland, Ohio.

“The mission of Meharry captures everything I’ve worked toward throughout my career,” said Harris-Haywood. “The College is unmatched in its commitment to ensuring that our nation’s underserved communities have access to the health care services and support they need. I’m honored to now be a part of Meharry’s rich legacy by leading and creating new educational experiences and opportunities for the next generation of providers who will serve underserved and minority communities.”

Harris-Haywood earned a master’s degree in science education from New York University in 1992, and a master’s degree in clinical investigation from Case Western Reserve University in 2015. She attended Seton Hall University for her undergraduate studies and received her medical degree from New Jersey Medical School in 1997 and completed her family medicine residency at Mountainside Family Medicine in Montclair, New Jersey. She is a devoted wife to Morris T. Haywood, D.P.M., and the proud mother of three children.

Lack of Men of Color Graduating From the Health Professions Declared a Crisis by Association CEOs

The Federation of Associations of Schools of the Health Professions (FASHP) has declared the low number of historically underrepresented men of color (HUMOC) graduating and entering the health care professions a national crisis. Representing CEOs of national academic health professions associations, FASHP has released a consensus statement addressing this critical issue, and is calling on local and national educational, health care, governmental and community leaders to raise awareness regarding this critical issue and to identify barriers and provide resources to dramatically increase the number of men of color graduating from the health professions.

“Our patients deserve the best care we can provide, and that requires a concerted, broader effort to motivate attention and activate solutions.”

“We must urgently join forces with P-16 education, government, health care, corporations and other leaders to remove pathway barriers and adopt robust strategies that facilitate a significant increase in the number of historically underrepresented men of color entering and graduating from dental, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, social work and other health professions schools,” said Dr. Karen P. West, Secretary of FASHP and President and CEO of the American Dental Education Association (ADEA).

Similar disparities exist across the academic health professions. For example:

Of 6,665 2021 U.S. dental school graduates, 3,223 (48.4%) were men (American Dental Association). Of those, 431 (6.46%) were HUMOC (263 Hispanic/Latino men, 147 Black/African American men, 18 American Indian/Alaska Native men and 3 Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander men).

Of 21,051 2021-2022 U.S. medical school graduates, 10,268 (48.8%) were men (Association of American Medical Colleges [AAMC]). Of those, 1,251 were HUMOC (664 Hispanic/Latino men, 565 Black/African American men, 13 American Indian/Alaska Native men, and 9 Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander men).

The 2021 graduating class of veterinary medical students included only 0.6% Black/African American men, 1.4% Hispanic/Latino men, and 0.2% American Indian/Alaska Native men.

Of the 824 2021-2022 U.S. public health doctoral graduates, 230 were men (Association of Schools & Programs of Public Health [ASPPH]). Of the total graduates, only 2.5% were Black/African American men, 2.1% Hispanic/Latino men, and 0.1% American Indian/Alaska Native men.

"The development of a diverse healthcare workforce is a critical goal for all FASHP member associations,” said FASHP President Dawn Mancuso, MAM, CAE, FASAE, Executive Vice President and CEO of the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry. “Our patients deserve the best care we can provide, and that requires a concerted, broader effort to motivate attention and activate solutions.”

The low numbers of HUMOC health care providers affect not only communities of color but the entire nation’s well-being. This lack of diversity has significant consequences for public health, education, economic stability and the availability and quality of health care treatment for all U.S. communities. There is also a need to significantly increase the number of HUMOC graduating with Ph.D.s and doctorate degrees in public health. “These statistics are unacceptable and solidify our resolve to implement impactful solutions around engaging our members toward a more inclusive and equitable public health workforce,” said Dr. Laura Magaña, ASPPH President and CEO.

Dr. Andrew T. Maccabe, CEO of the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges, noted that “a lack of awareness, marginalization, educational disparities, systemic racism and unconscious bias has led to these continuing inequalities and a lack of HUMOC matriculating and graduating in the academic health professions, which has now reached crisis proportions.”

FASHP members are addressing disparities through a variety of initiatives. For example:

The AAMC launched the Action Collaborative for Black Men in Medicine in 2020, which includes partnerships that focus on systemic solutions to increase the representation and success of Black men interested in and entering medicine.

With a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), ADEA hosted a two-day Summit with 83 representatives from across the health professions to develop solutions to the paucity of HUMOC in the health professions. Dr. David Satcher, 16th Surgeon General of the United States and former President of Morehouse College and Meharry Medical College, was a featured guest and galvanized the group to act.

The Summer Health Professions Education Program (SHPEP), jointly administered by ADEA and AAMC and supported by the RWJF, is a six-week summer enrichment program for marginalized and socioeconomically and educationally disadvantaged college students interested in the health professions.

Dr. Dennis Mitchell, dentist and Interim Provost and Executive Vice President for University Life at Columbia University who serves on the National Association of Chief Diversity Officers in Higher Education Board of Directors, was instrumental in establishing SHPEP. “Pathway programs such as SHPEP make a difference, but we need more of these programs and more of these interventions throughout the P-16 student lifecycle for boys and men of color,” said Dr. Mitchell.

FASHP CEOs agree that more academic enrichment interventions are needed to increase the representation of all historically underrepresented and marginalized groups in the health professions. However, FASHP believes there is an urgent need to call attention to the significant deficiency of HUMOC entering and graduating from health professions schools in comparison to other marginalized student populations.

In pursuit of greater collective action, FASHP is establishing a coalition with associations across the academic health professions, health care institutions and health professional organizations to tackle the longstanding problem of the low numbers of HUMOC at health professions schools. FASHP plans to expand its work to galvanize P-16, governmental, health care, corporate, foundation, health care research, community and other leaders to develop short- and long-term strategies with focused action plans.

FASHP Member Organizations

American Association of Colleges of Nursing

American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine

American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy

American Association of Colleges of Podiatric Medicine

American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges

American Dental Education Association

Association of American Medical Colleges

Association of Chiropractic Colleges

Association of Schools Advancing Health Professions

Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry

Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health

Association of University Programs in Health Administration

Council on Social Work Education

PA Education Association

Liaison Members:

Association of Accredited Naturopathic Medical Colleges

American Council of Academic Physical Therapy

American Occupational Therapy Association

American Physical Therapy Association

American Psychological Association