Holly Humphrey headshot

Holly Humphrey

Holly J. Humphrey, MD, MACP, is the eighth president of Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation. Immediately prior to her appointment, she served for 15 years as the Ralph W. Gerard Professor in Medicine and Dean for Medical Education at The University of Chicago.

In 1989, Dr. Humphrey and a colleague delivered the country’s first White Coat Ceremony address at The University of Chicago. The Gold Foundation later adopted and formalized this ceremony and today supports similar events in medical and nursing schools across the country. During her tenure as Dean for Medical Education, her signature programs focused on equity, diversity, and inclusion, mentoring, and professionalism. She led efforts to increase diversity and belonging by developing pipeline programs and co-founding the Bowman Society, which explores issues of health disparity and provides mentoring for those underrepresented in medicine. She was the founding dean of the school’s Identity and Inclusion Committee, which advances civil discourse in the medical school. She is also the founding dean of the Academy of Distinguished Medical Educators and of the MERITS Fellowship program for faculty pursuing research, innovation, teaching, and scholarship in medical education.

She is Chair of the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine’s Board of Directors. She is Chair Emeritus of the American Board of Internal Medicine and of the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation and a past President of the Association of Program Directors in Internal Medicine (APDIM).

Dr. Humphrey earned her MD degree with honors from The University of Chicago. Following an internal medicine residency, pulmonary and critical care fellowship, and Chief Residency all at The University of Chicago, she served a 14-year tenure as Director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program, which provided the foundation for her career in medical education. She is a member of the National Academy of Medicine. Crain’s Chicago Business featured her as one of their “Women to Watch,” and the NorthShore University Health System created the Holly J. Humphrey Medical Education Fund with a one million dollar gift to the University of Chicago in recognition of her leadership in medical education.

The Association of Program Directors in Internal Medicine honored her with the Dema C. Daley Founders Award for national excellence as an educator, innovator, and leader. Graduating medical students at The University of Chicago honored Dr. Humphrey five times with the Gender Equity Award and more than 25 times with the Favorite Faculty Teaching Award.

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