Howard University’s College of Medicine Appoints First Black Woman Dean

Howard University’s College of Medicine has named its new dean, and for the first time in history, a Black woman will lead the school.

Andrea A. Hayes Dixon, M.D., FACS, is the new dean of the Howard University College of Medicine. She follows Hugh Mighty, MD, MBA, FACOG, who has served as dean since 2015.

Howard University President Wayne A. I. Frederick said in a statement, “I am overjoyed to have the honor of announcing that for the first time in the college’s 154-year history, a Black woman will serve as the dean of the Howard University College of Medicine. If you look at the data on women’s leadership in medicine, it shows there is still much progress to be made. With the appointment of Dr. Hayes Dixon, Howard University not only gains an incredible leader but we move the University and the field of medicine forward.”

Hayes Dixon also said, “I am truly honored and humbled to lead the outstanding Howard University College of Medicine. The responsibility of educating the nation’s next generation of leaders in medicine is an enormous responsibility that I take very seriously. I am excited to engender allies and friends to join me in the journey of moving Howard forward.”

Hayes Dixon is originally from Los Angeles and graduated from Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, with a bachelor’s degree in religion from Dartmouth College. She also attended Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College, earning a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.). Her other accomplishments include a residency program at the University of California Davis-East Bay, a molecular biology fellowship at the University of California – San Francisco, and a pediatric surgical oncology fellowship at the St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.