Beyond Flexner 2015 Insights: Erik Porfeli

Erik Porfeli, Ph.D. is the Assistant Dean for Community Engagement and Admissions and Associate Professor of Family and Community Medicine in the College of Medicine at NEOMED. His team directs a portfolio of programs to advance the health and economic vitality of Ohio through health professions educational pathways and grassroots community health initiatives. This portfolio engages over 1,500 youth in Ohio and is being disseminated to other universities across the country. Dr. Porfeli collaborates with Ohio universities and colleges to enact Baccalaureate and Post-Baccalaureate to MD degree programs and orchestrates eight holistic admissions processes to compose a student body aligned with the mission of the College of Medicine. He leads the development of a longitudinal evaluation system for the Medical College to discover if and how the student body develops from admissions to graduation relative to its mission. This work has been translated into a learning analytics system to predict student performance before it occurs and to offer proactive support to students facing academic challenges. Dr. Porfeli is an internationally-recognized scholar in the area of lifespan career development. His research has been translated into over 50 publications and 60 domestic and international presentations.