Assistant/Associate Dean, Basic Science Medical Education

Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science (CDU): CDU is a private, nonprofit, community-founded, student-centered university with 3 colleges: Nursing, Science and Health, and Medicine.  CDU is committed to cultivating diverse health professions leaders who are dedicated to social justice and health equity for underserved populations, and in July 2023 opened a new CDU MD degree program in its College of Medicine, as evidence of that commitment.

Founded in 1966 as a post-graduate medical school in response to local healthcare needs, CDU is located in South Los Angeles bordering the neighborhood of Watts and the City of Compton.  This year, CDU celebrates 60 years of training diverse health leaders who fulfill its mission in South Los Angeles and across the nation and world. Outstanding education, individualized mentorship, clinical service, and community engagement are at the core of the CDU experience.

College of Medicine: The College of Medicine (COM) at CDU has entered the last phase of the LCME process to full accreditation for its new MD Program that opened with a charter class of 60 students July 2023. The new MD Program is built on the foundation of:

• Graduate Medical Education (GME) with residency programs in Family Medicine (2018), Psychiatry (2018), Internal Medicine (2021), Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (2024) and fellowships in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (2023) and Addiction Medicine (2024). GME is growing with plans for Surgery, Pediatrics and Ob/GYN residency programs.
• A robust history of NIH, other federal and foundation funded disparities research, specifically in cancer, HIV, mental health and metabolic disorders.
• Forty plus years of experience with clinical education through its clinical track in a joint medical education program with UCLA’s Geffen School of Medicine (CDU/UCLA Medical Education Program). The joint degree program graduated its first class in 1985 and sunsets in 2027, having set the stage for the new MD degree program at CDU.

CDU’s new medical school is the 157th in the nation and the 4th at an HBCU.  The medical students are differentiated from national peers in the percent who received Pell Grants while in college – 70% compared to 20% nationally.   CDU’s mission includes providing opportunities for students from CDU’s surrounding neighborhoods and South Los Angeles County, and from low income /under-resourced backgrounds.  This requires ensuring our students’ success with the career-long certification process as required for a rewarding career in medicine.  It is in this context that we seek a strong, experienced medical educator able to lead our developing basic science medical education unit.

The Position:  The Assistant or Associate Dean for Basic Science Medical Education is a unique opportunity for a visionary health professional and medical educator, preferably a physician scientist, to lead in an educational training environment built on inter-professional innovation and CDU’s vision, mission, and values  https://www.cdrewu.edu/about/mission-vision-values/ .

This is a new position created to lead, strengthen, and teach in the pre-clerkship basic science curriculum for 1st and 2nd year medical students, and offer and participate in the strategic board preparation  activities throughout the 4 years. This dean will work in concert with the associate dean for Clinical Medical Education and the Chair of the Department of Basic Science.  With responsibility for the management and oversight of the pre-clerkship medical education basic science program of 15 courses (listed in the Appendix) that set the stage for the clinical years and are required for the MD degree.   These pre-clerkship courses prepare medical students for passing Step I and Step II and for success in their clinical training.  A metric of the success of the pre-clerkship curriculum is the pass rate for Step 1.

The assistant/associate dean for basic science medical education leads and manages the faculty, curriculum development, and ensures the quality of the scientific disciplines with a focus on accreditation, innovation, faculty development, and peer standards.  Science education includes but is not limited to physiology, pharmacology, pathology, anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry. This role involves working with faculty and committees to develop effective teaching methods, monitor student progress in basic sciences, participate in strategic planning, and ensure alignment with accreditation standards, ultimately promoting a strong biomedical science education foundation for medical students. 

Key Responsibilities:

• Fidelity to CDU’s Mission: Adhere to the mission and values of CDU understanding the respo