Dear NEOMED Community:
After over seven years of dedication to the University, I am sad to announce that effective September 30, 2018, Dr. Gina Weisblat left NEOMED. Dr. Weisblat and her Education for Service team (Valerie Beutel, Anita Iveljic, Anita Johnson, Angela Brodie, Stephen Greenberg and Mary Elizabeth Ruttenberg) moved their pipeline program and community efforts to Baldwin Wallace University. Dr. Weisblat serves as the Co-Director of the Center for Health Disparities Research and Education at Baldwin Wallace as part of her full-time responsibility at University Hospitals and Case Western Reserve University Medical School as Director of the Office of Community Impact, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion.
In 2011, Dr. Weisblat joined NEOMED as an Assistant Professor shortly after which she became the Director of Education for Services out of the College of Medicine. As the Director, Dr. Weisblat was instrumental in the development of the Health Professions Affinity Community (HPAC) program. HPAC is one of the largest pipeline programs in the nation focused on serving students with the right academic tools and 21st century skills to advance their pathways to medicine, pharmacy and other health careers. The program consisted initially of a couple local high schools and grew to serve hundreds of schools in over 37 different counties across the state. Annually, thousands of students in the program learn the critical skills of research, innovation, outreach, partnerships, grant writing and public speaking necessary for college and career readiness. A corps of 40 AmeriCorps members with a vast number of partnerships including universities, hospitals, non-profits and non-secular religious organizations carried out the program with the leadership of Dr. Weisblat’s team and support of local teachers, parents, school administration and community partners.
The team has proudly carried NEOMED’s name across Ohio and will continue to have a tremendous impact on the academic and career development of students and communities statewide. While at NEOMED, Dr. Weisblat and her team have identified opportunities to enhance the NEOMED’s efforts to recruit and retain a diverse population of students. In her role, Dr. Weisblat has engaged internal and external stakeholders to support the strategic initiatives of the university. During her time at NEOMED, Dr. Weisblat has written and been awarded a number of large federal grants which have been instrumental in the creation and implementation of a state approved Community Health Worker curriculum, a Junior Community Health Worker curriculum, the AmeriCorps Corps for Rural Success in Health Program, and a large amount of additional programming to support students in rural and urban communities across the state. In addition, Dr. Weisblat has fostered strong relationships with many NEOMED medical and pharmacy students through her teaching, research and dedication to advancing them in their career pathways.
It was an honor having Dr. Weisblat and her team representing NEOMED the past seven years. Their hard work, professionalism and dedication to their programming and students will yield nothing but success in their new venture at Baldwin Wallace University. Please join us in thanking Dr. Gina Weisblat for all her hard work.
Sincerely,
Rebecca Hayes