Dear Faculty, Staff and Students: 

I am pleased to inform you that after a national search, we have appointed Nicolle Strand, JD, MBE, MPH, as Director for the Center for Urban Bioethics, effective February 1, 2024.

Since July 1, 2023, Professor Strand has served as Interim Director for the Center for Urban Bioethics. Professor Strand has been an integral part of the Katz School of Medicine for the past six years. She is an outstanding leader in the Center for Urban Bioethics, with a strong focus on studying anti-racism in medicine, structural racism, social determinants of health and LGBTQ+ health disparities and ethics. Additionally, Professor Strand served as Director of Equity and Culture Initiatives in the Office of Health Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (OHEDI). In this role, she collaborated with the Office of Faculty Affairs and the Office of Medical Education to enhance faculty development and staff training programs.

She has led trainings on racism in medicine and respectful LGBTQ+ care, and has taught in the Masters in Urban Bioethics program and in the MD curriculum on bioethics, health equity and structural determinants of health. She serves as the Vice Chair of the university’s Institutional Review Board and is the co-chair of the Temple Health LGBTQ+ Alliance Taskforce. She is also a member of the Ethics Committee at Temple University Health System. 

Prior to her appointment at Temple, she worked for the National Center for Ethics in Healthcare at the Department of Veteran’s Affairs and served in the Obama Administration as a Senior Policy and Research Analyst on the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues.   

As the director, Professor Strand will assume responsibility for overseeing the center’s operations, providing guidance to CUB’s research teams, and fostering collaborations with external stakeholders. She will work on enhancing integration and collaboration with the health system and university to amplify the school's efforts in equity, translational research and community outreach. Professor Strand will also play a pivotal role in shaping the center’s strategic direction and fostering a collaborative and inclusive work environment.

Please join me in congratulating Professor Strand on her appointment as director.  


Amy J. Goldberg, MD, FACS
The Marjorie Joy Katz Dean
Lewis Katz School of Medicine
She/Her 

The Lewis Katz School of Medicine is charting the course for the future, nearing completion of a strategic plan for the next five years and beyond that will refine the school’s mission and vision and set priorities and goals for this exciting chapter of our school’s history.  

As the school prepares for LCME accreditation in 2025, the planning process – and the plan itself – will, where and when appropriate, align with the University's overarching strategic plan ‘Flying Further,' released in October 2022, the 2022-2025 TUHS three-year plan, and external trends influencing and evolving the educational landscape. It will also provide mechanisms for measuring our progress and success. The plan’s development also aligns with several other key initiatives, including brand development that is nearing completion for both the School of Medicine and the health system. Under the direction of Dr. Amy J. Goldberg, MD, FACS, the Marjorie Joy Katz Dean, and in partnership with the nation’s leading healthcare consulting firm ECG Management Consultants, a dedicated executive work group of leaders from across Temple’s academic medical center, including Temple Faculty Physicians, is steering the initiative. 

Rooted in collaboration and inclusive engagement with the entire Katz community, including faculty, staff and students, alongside engagement from the North Philadelphia community, the strategic planning process uses a phased approach spread across seven months. After kicking off over the summer with interviews and discovery that included in-depth data analysis and an environmental scan of peer and aspirational schools, the process is now in Phase 2. Informed by the discovery, four distinct workgroups are now developing recommendations for potential goals, strategies, initiatives and measurable outcomes. The workgroups—Infrastructure and Financial Stability; Research and Clinical Science; People, Community, and Culture; and Education—are chaired by leaders from the executive work group, and their members encompass a diverse representation of faculty, staff and administrative personnel from across the school and Temple Health. 

Workgroup Focus Areas 

The workgroups’ areas of focus include, but are not limited to, the following: 

Infrastructure and Financial Stability: Sources and uses of funds; Inter- and intra-entity financial transfers; Institutional advancement and philanthropy; Data analytics and reporting capabilities; Departmental, center, and unit structures; Administrative and academic support; and Capital projects and planning. 

People, Community, and Culture: DEI; Faculty and staff recruitment and retention; Professional advancement; Community engagement; and Safety and security. 

Research and Clinical Science: LKSOM basic science and clinical research infrastructure; Key internal strengths and differentiation areas; LKSOM and TUHS clinical research focus areas, along with complementary and synergistic clinical and community focus areas; Partnership opportunities (academic, community, industry, commercialization, tech transfer, and innovation); Physician scientist recruitment; and Student research opportunities and engagement. 

Education: Program offerings; Collaboration with other TU schools and programs; Student recruitment and enrollment; Affordability and student debt; LKSOM and Temple Health alignment; and Clinical affiliates and partnerships.  

“As the Lewis Katz School of Medicine navigates the evolving landscape of education and healthcare, we are so grateful for the dedication of all the participants across each phase of this strategic planning process,” said Dean Goldberg. “Your expertise, passion and Temple spirit are building the foundation for our big, bold and bright future.” 

An upcoming day-long retreat on January 9 will serve as a collaborative platform for all work group members, along with numerous stakeholders from the broader community, to collectively refine the mission, vision and strategies. The final plan is slated to be completed in February.