Puerto Rican leads advisory group at the Association of American Medical Colleges

She will represent the perspectives of Latinos and minorities in the nation

Ponce, Puerto Rico – On April 1st, Emsley Vázquez Colón, Vice President of Strategic Marketing and Communications at Ponce Health Sciences University, was appointed chair of the marketing discipline in the Steering Committee of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Group of Institutional Advancement (GIA).

The GIA is one of 23 professional development groups and councils within the AAMC, and its membership is comprised of more than 700 professionals of alumni relations, communications, institutional development, marketing and public affairs, and community relationships at AAMC member institutions. In her new role, Emsley will lead the marketing discipline and develop recruitment strategies for this group to promote discussions about the discipline in academic medicine, as well as review proposals in sessions for the GIA annual conference, contributing from the perspective of Latinos and minorities in the nation.

“It is an honor to be named chair of the marketing discipline in AAMC's Group of Institutional Advancement,” said Emsley Vázquez Colón, who has 12 years of experience developing marketing strategies at the undergraduate level and 18 in the higher education industry. “I look forward to helping promote medical education in Puerto Rico and our students' opportunities. In addition, through my role, I will seek to position the academic excellence that Puerto Rico medical schools offer and contribute to diversity, equity, and inclusion within the medical student community at the national level.”

By August 2022, there was a 4% increase in enrollment of Hispanics, Latinos, or students of Spanish-speaking origin in medical schools in the United States, including Puerto Rico. These students constitute 12% of the total enrolled nationally, with a total of 96,520 students pursuing a doctorate in medicine schools.

Dr. José Torres Ruiz, Chancellor of Ponce Health Sciences University, highlighted Emsley's achievement, “We are proud that a leader from our institution has been appointed to head such an important discipline at the AAMC. We hope that this achievement not only promotes the academic excellence that we offer in the field of medicine in Puerto Rico, but also contributes to creating diversity and equity in the medical student community nationwide.”