HERSHEY, Pa. — Today, Dr. Karen E. Kim, the Dorothy Foehr Huck and J. Lloyd Huck Chair in Rural Health Research and Professor, started her tenure as the dean of the Penn State College of Medicine. Kim brings more than 25 years of wide-ranging clinical, educational and research expertise with her to Hershey.
“I am excited and honored to be the new dean at the College of Medicine,” Kim said. “The admiration faculty, staff and students have for Penn State is palpable and its reputation as a leading public research university is outstanding. To have the opportunity to join this esteemed institution is incredible — I am excited to build on my colleagues’ success and further Penn State’s impact across Pennsylvania and beyond, including among underserved rural and underrepresented populations.”
Kim leads the College of Medicine in furthering its education, research and clinical missions, and said she will maintain and continue to build a strong culture of innovation and team-based interdisciplinary collaboration. As physician-in-chief, Kim plays a critical role in shaping the clinical environment of the academic health system, including how the college’s academic research, education and innovation missions enhance equitable and inclusive clinical care. She is the college's first woman dean and the only Korean American woman currently serving in such a role nationally.
“Penn State is internationally recognized as a powerhouse in innovation and research with direct benefits to its constituents,” Kim said. “Our local community members have access to world class treatment and care through our academic health system because of the scientific discoveries happening at the College of Medicine. Our educators and researchers are among the top in their respective areas, and they are training your next doctor right here in your backyard. That type of community impact is rare and can be found here at the college.”
As dean, Kim leads a college of about 1,400 faculty, 1,600 full- and part-time staff, an enrollment of approximately 1,000 students (medical, physician assistant and graduate) represented at both the Hershey and University Park campuses, approximately 590 resident trainees and 140 fellows as part of the learning community at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.
Prior to joining Penn State, Kim served as the vice provost for research and senior research officer at the University of Chicago, the Sara and Harold Lincoln Thompson Chair and Professor of Medicine, and associate director of the University of Chicago Comprehensive Cancer Center. During her tenure as vice provost for research, Kim collaborated with divisions, schools, centers and institutes across the university and national laboratories to establish strategic research priorities, significantly increase interdisciplinary research and funding success and enhanced broader impact through inclusive innovation.