Julie Oyler, MD, has been named as the inaugural chair of the newly established Biological Sciences Division Women’s Committee.
As chair, Oyler will convene and develop a charter for the Committee and lead division-wide initiatives focused on the engagement and well-being of female faculty. She will direct the committee in its work to engage broadly with female faculty and trainees from each academic department to understand and promote engagement and advancement in the BSD and UChicago Medicine. The BSD Women’s Committee will launch this summer and include representation from clinical and basic science departments, focusing its work on professional development, structural changes and advocacy for gender equity issues.
This key leadership position reports to the Vice Dean for Faculty Affairs and will collaborate closely with the Vice Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Oyler will work closely with the Associate Deans of Faculty Affairs to set strategic plans and define success metrics, and partner with other academic deans and the Faculty Practice Plan on recruitment, retention, and promotion of female faculty. She will also serve as the conference director for the 2024 Warner-Reynolds Leadership Academy: The Power of Community in Leadership.
Oyler is a Professor of Medicine and Associate Program Director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program. She has been the Chair of the Department of Medicine Women’s Committee since 2017 and has led several initiatives to increase the visibility and recognition of women faculty.
Oyler recently completed Drexel University’s prestigious Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine/Executive Leadership in Healthcare (ELAM/ELH) program and will translate the leadership lessons from this national program to her work leading the Women’s Committee. She is currently co-director for the Health Care Delivery Improvement Science Track at the Pritzker School of Medicine, which trains medical student leaders in quality improvement and patient safety. She completed her undergraduate education at Stanford University and her medical degree, internal medicine residency, and chief residency at UChicago.