February 24, 2023—BRONX, NY—Albert Einstein College of Medicine has named Reginald Leon Hayes, B.S., B.Mus., M.Div., the assistant dean for diversity enhancement. In this role, Mr. Hayes will focus on promoting diversity, equity, and engagement for current and prospective medical students and those in Einstein’s pathway programs. Mr. Hayes began his new role in late January.
“We look forward to supporting Mr. Hayes as he works to advance greater diversity, equity, and inclusion at Einstein,” said Gordon F. Tomaselli, M.D., the Marilyn and Stanley M. Katz Dean at Einstein and executive vice president and chief academic officer at Montefiore Medicine. “His appointment demonstrates our clear commitment to the principles championed by our namesake, which have been deeply held by the College of Medicine since its founding.”
“Mr. Hayes has a wealth of experience that will help us fulfill the goals of our office,” said Lynne Holden, M.D., senior associate dean for diversity & inclusion and professor of emergency medicine at Einstein and an attending physician in the emergency department at Montefiore Health System. “His leadership in building a more equitable workforce and his personal involvement with global health will bring valuable insight, understanding, and knowledge to this critically important position. We are very pleased he is able to join us.”
Mr. Hayes’ responsibilities will include bolstering Einstein’s pathway program consortium, recruiting diverse medical students, and creating an inclusive environment for Einstein community members.
“It is both an honor and privilege to be back in the Bronx and to join the Einstein community,” said Mr. Hayes, who previously lived and served in a church in the Bronx and participated in a community outreach program in the borough. “I look forward to opportunities to discuss how we can engage everyone on campus and foster an inclusive and peaceable environment for our learners while advancing the mission of the College of Medicine, both in the Bronx and beyond.”
Mr. Hayes worked most recently at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), in Washington, DC, as an associate program officer for the Roundtable on Black Men and Black Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine. This group convenes to discuss systemic issues and historic barriers to Blacks pursuing careers in SEM while sharing promising practices for increasing representation, retention, and inclusiveness.
Before joining the roundtable, he worked as an implementation partner for the United States Agency for International Development’s Partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in Research program, focusing on cervical cancer and the high mortality rates for women in Malawi and Mozambique. In addition to these roles at NASEM, he was one of the original members of the diversity, equity and inclusion working group prior to the formal launch of the initiative at the institution.
Mr. Hayes also served as a research analyst for diversity in clinical trials at the National Cancer Institute, where he worked with principal investigator Ted Trimble, M.D., M.P.H., researching methods to combat medical and science mistrust among historically disadvantaged populations and increase diversity in clinical trials conducted in the U.S.
Mr. Hayes, a native of Washington, DC, was a biology and environmental science teacher in the District of Columbia public school system and in mission schools in Brazil and the Philippines. A classically trained tenor, Mr. Hayes has performed many roles including Tamino in The Magic Flute, King Kaspar in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Fenton in The Merry Wives of Windsor, and Don Ottavio from Don Giovanni, and has appeared as tenor soloist for oratorios such as the Bach Mass in B minor, Saint-Saëns’ Christmas Oratorio, Handel’s Messiah, Berlioz’s Te Deum and numerous other works.
Mr. Hayes earned his bachelor’s degrees from Shaw University (in biology) and from Nyack College (in vocal performance), and a master’s in divinity from the Alliance Theological Seminary. This May, he will receive a master’s in business administration from Western Governors University. He is a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the National Association of Black Male Educators.
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About Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Albert Einstein College of Medicine is one of the nation’s premier centers for research, medical education and clinical investigation. During the 2022-23 academic year, Einstein is home to 740 M.D. students, 194 Ph.D. students, 118 students in the combined M.D./Ph.D. program, and approximately 225 postdoctoral research fellows. The College of Medicine has more than 1,900 full-time faculty members located on the main campus and at its clinical affiliates. In 2022, Einstein received more than $202 million in awards from the National Institutes of Health. This includes the funding of major research centers at Einstein in cancer, aging, intellectual development disorders, diabetes, clinical and translational research, liver disease, and AIDS. Other areas where the College of Medicine is concentrating its efforts include developmental brain research, neuroscience, cardiac disease, and initiatives to reduce and eliminate ethnic and racial health disparities. Its partnership with Montefiore, the University Hospital and academic medical center for Einstein, advances clinical and translational research to accelerate the pace at which new discoveries become the treatments and therapies that benefit patients. For more information, please visit einsteinmed.edu, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and view us on YouTube.
