HERSHEY, Pa. — When Dr. Mack Ruffin IV arrived at Penn State College of Medicine as chair of the Department of Family and Community Medicine in 2016, things looked vastly different.
The department had a long and storied history by then — it was established in 1967, making it the nation’s first Department of Family and Community Medicine in an academic health center — but its numbers were small, both in terms of department members and research output and funding. There also was room for improvement in the areas of faculty development and diversity.
In Ruffin’s eyes, he saw a world of potential to create an even brighter future for the historic department.
“When I started meeting with department leadership teams, I looked around the meeting table at almost exclusively white, older men. The meetings were not productive or engaging. The leadership bench of the department was very thin and faculty development was not a priority,” Ruffin said. “We have made significant progress. This leadership position has allowed me to use all of the skills given to me by my mentors to advance the department to a world-class organization. Over 70% of the current faculty in family and community medicine joined the college while I have served. The journey to world class has been amazing and worthwhile because of the faculty who chose to join the team.”
After an impressive eight years at the helm, Ruffin has announced he will retire as department chair, effective Dec. 31.
“I will miss the people across all levels of the department. I hope each of them is aware of how much I cared for their success in achieving the best in their role and advancing to the next step in their career,” he said. “The opportunity to have such a powerful impact on individuals, teams and the entire faculty was challenging and brought a great sense of accomplishment. I hope what each family and community medicine department member remembers most about my leadership is how I made them feel valued and essential parts of our missions.”
Since joining the College of Medicine as chair in 2016, Ruffin has helped the department accomplish substantial growth and significant advancements in the College of Medicine’s research, education and clinical missions. His transformative leadership has seen the successful clinical expansion from 80 physician faculty and 19 advanced practice providers in 2015 to 96 physicians and 41 advanced practice providers and the opening of a new clinic in Mechanicsburg for 14 clinical outpatient sites. Outpatient visits are approaching more than 250,000 annually. The three residency programs at the College of Medicine have an integrated curriculum for 60 residents. Ruffin also facilitated the St. Joseph residency programs in obtaining two Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education certifications and recruiting a new residency program leader and core faculty. Additionally, Ruffin recruited a senior research faculty who successfully obtained funding for the college’s first T32 Research Fellowship Training Program.
The department’s research division is driving innovation with 10 research faculty, including four successful Research Career Development Award (K) Kiosk awardees, six postdoctoral primary care research fellows, and 21 research staff to assist with pre- and post-award management. The department’s work has generated a consistent output of 100 annual publications. As of July 31, the department’s research portfolio comprises more than $10 million in funding, including grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, Department of Defense, and the Pennsylvania and county departments of health.
Ruffin has remained a staunch advocate and exemplary mentor for his faculty members. Upon arrival at the College of Medicine, he worked tirelessly to establish a tenure track in the Department of Family and Community Medicine, where the first two faculty participants were promoted to tenure early due to their success. Annually, he has successfully supported six to eight faculty for promotion with 11 in the current promotion cycle.
With Ruffin at the helm, the department has been active in all areas of undergraduate medical education. The department’s required third-year clerkship has become the number one rated clerkship by College of Medicine students, and it is on track to expand from six to eight weeks in 2025.
In addition to his impactful departmental leadership, Ruffin has continued to produce prolific research in cancer prevention and early detection, with more than 250 peer-reviewed publications with 9,257 citations and an h-index of 50. He has maintained NIH funding in this area for over 30 years. He currently leads a new National Cancer Institute-funded study focused on an intervention to promote physical activity among rural populations. Other ongoing NIH-funded studies focus on discovering and validating less invasive screening tests for colorectal cancer and promoting human papillomavirus vaccine uptake. In 2017, Ruffin received the Curtis Hames Research Award from the Society of Teachers in Family Medicine for his lifetime contributions to research.
“Dr. Ruffin has had an extraordinary tenure as chair,” said Dr. Karen Kim, dean of the College of Medicine. “His unwavering leadership and commitment to the College of Medicine and Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center have been instrumental in our growth and success.”
Prior to his arrival at the College of Medicine, Ruffin was the inaugural Dr. Max and Buena Lichter Research Professor of Family Medicine at the University of Michigan Health System. He also served as professor and associate chair for research programs in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School, where he taught students in public health, medicine, nursing, residency, fellowship and practicing physicians. He led and participated in many multi-institutional studies at the university’s Comprehensive Cancer Center as well. Ruffin was voted into the Michigan Research League of Excellence in 2014 for his work to sustain extramural independent research funding.
Ruffin earned his medical degree at the Medical College of Virginia and completed a family practice residency at Wake Forest Medical Center. He earned his master of public health in epidemiology at the University of Minnesota while completing a research fellowship.
Following his transition from the role of chair, Ruffin will continue to be a valuable member of the College of Medicine faculty, contributing to research efforts, mentoring faculty, teaching and interviewing student applicants.