Jill M. Baren, MD, MS, MBA

Dr. Jill M. Baren is a medical doctor, educator, and researcher, was appointed as president of Lake Forest College in July 2022. Baren previously served as Provost and Vice-President of Academic Affairs at University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. As an academic leader and physician, she has proven her commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion by challenging existing paradigms and positively transforming organizations in which she is involved. “I believe that leadership consistently needs to apply dedicated resources to create an inclusive culture,” Baren said. 

At University of the Sciences, Baren aided in the creation of several initiatives to improve recruitment and retention of a more diverse faculty. Focusing on issues of social mobility, she also encouraged the development of partnerships with local organizations in Philadelphia to provide underrepresented high school students with visible role models and support for their professional aspirations. When she served as president of the American Board of Emergency Medicine from 2019 to 2020, Baren established the very first diversity, equity, and inclusion task force and succeeded in changing the culture and the composition of the executive committee to 67 percent women and underrepresented minorities in just two years.   

Baren studied biochemistry in preparation for medical school. A dedicated learner, she was conscious of balancing out her science courses with social science, arts, and humanities courses. Baren then earned her Doctor of Medicine from the University of Pittsburgh with post-graduate clinical training completed at the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, California. Baren later pursued a Master of Science in medical ethics from University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Brandeis University.  

In addition to her administrative and education experience, Baren is a prolific scholar who has published more than 90 scholarly articles and several books in the field of emergency medicine.