"Starting a medical school is a complex task that requires dedication by the leadership so several factors are critical: a commitment to excellence, a desire to meet the highest standards of education, and a willingness to develop innovative programs and promote lifelong learning by students."
Dr. Eckhert collaborates with other academic leaders at PHMI and at PHMI’s partner institutions on initiatives focused on developing and enhancing medical and nursing schools and programs. She joined PHMI following a long career at the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS), where she practiced as a primary care pediatrician for more than twenty years and held numerous faculty and administrative leadership positions. She served as Associate Dean for Admissions, Professor and Chairman of the Department of Family and Community Medicine, and Dean/Vice Chancellor for International and Public Health Programs. She also served as Chairman of the the school’s Executive Committee, President of the University Hospital medical staff, and Chair of the Credentials Committee.
She has served on the Board of Trustees of the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates and as its Chairman from 2001-2004. Dr. Eckhert also served as a founding board member of the Foundation for the Advancement of Medical Education and research (FAIMER). Dr. Eckhert also is a past member of the Composite Committee of the National Board of Medical Examiners.
Active in the Association of American Medical Colleges, Dr. Eckhert served on the Council of Academic Societies Administrative Board and as its Chairman. She served for many years on the AAMC Executive Council presiding as the Chairman in 2004-2005. In 2005 she chaired the Search Committee for the Presidency of AAMC.
She has also served as the President of the Association of Teachers of Preventive Medicine and a member of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Academy of Family Physicians.
In collaboration with the Association of American Medical Colleges, the Association of Schools of Public Health and the National Institute of Health, she is the Chairman of the selection committee to recommend health professional graduate students for participation in the year long international health research fellowship, the Fogarty Fellowships.
In addition to her work with PHMI, Dr. Eckhert’s international experience includes working with Project HOPE in primary care training in many sites around the world, and a sabbatical year spent teaching at the University of Zimbabwe School of Medicine.