With profound sorrow, the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation announces that our beloved president, Holly J. Humphrey, MD, MACP, a nationally renowned leader in medical education, passed away on April 17, 2025, in Hinsdale, Illinois, surrounded by her loving family. Her husband, Dr. Duane Follman, said the cause was pancreatic cancer.
“Holly led the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation with integrity, humility, and excellence. She was steadfast in her commitment to the priorities of the Macy Foundation and made an enduring mark on the education of health professionals,” said Meredith B. Jenkins, Board Chair of the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation. “On behalf of the Foundation’s Board of Directors, we recognize the magnitude of this loss for all those connected to Holly as well as for the health professions education community. She will be deeply missed. We also wish to affirm our unwavering commitment to the work initiated by Dr. Humphrey and to the priorities that serve as just one facet of her tremendous legacy.”
“All of her accomplishments and accolades do not fully describe the essence of Holly Humphrey,” said George E. Thibault, MD, Daniel E. Federman Professor of Medicine and Medical Education Emeritus, Harvard Medical School, and the immediate past President of the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation. “She was a person of deep conviction guided by moral principles that were apparent to all who worked with her. She led by example with grace and joy. I was proud to have her as my successor as President of the Macy Foundation.”
Dr. Humphrey became the eighth president of the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation in 2018. During her tenure, she made an indelible impression on the Foundation and on health professions education nationally. Working closely with the Board, she initiated a strategic planning process to identify what would become the Foundation’s three priority areas, which she considered central to the education of the next generation of health professionals: promoting diversity, equity, and belonging; increasing collaboration among future health professionals; and preparing future health professionals to navigate ethical dilemmas. Throughout her tenure, Dr. Humphrey emphasized the Foundation’s steadfast commitment to these priorities. She firmly believed that everyone who teaches, learns, or seeks care in our nation’s clinical learning environments must be treated equitably and feel a sense of belonging. These beliefs guided her life and work long before Dr. Humphrey joined the Macy Foundation and were foundational to her ethical and unwavering commitment to justice, compassion, and the humane principles of centering patients and supporting learners.
“The Macy Foundation was fortunate to attract Holly, and her inspirational leadership and convening power helped take the Foundation’s work to new heights,” said William H. Wright II, former Board Chair of the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation during the first five years of Dr. Humphrey’s tenure as president. “During her too short time at the Foundation, she established new grantmaking initiatives and collaborative relationships with the Foundation’s peers at public and private institutions across the country to help extend the Foundation’s work. Her voice was valued at the most important tables in health professions education—she commanded respect while making others feel seen and heard.”
Among her many accomplishments as president of the Macy Foundation, Dr. Humphrey convened four national consensus conferences whose recommendations and scholarly work have been published in special issues of Academic Medicine. These conferences have addressed bias and discrimination in the clinical environment, lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, fairness in medical education evaluation, and artificial intelligence in medical education.
Dr. Humphrey also commissioned an external review of the Macy Faculty Scholars Program—one of the signature initiatives of the Foundation—at its 10-year anniversary in 2020. Recognizing the value and significance of the program to build and develop the next generation of leaders in medicine and nursing, Dr. Humphrey implemented a series of program modifications that expanded the impact and accessibility of this prestigious career development award. Under her leadership, and in collaboration with the National Advisory Committee, the program shifted its focus to include faculty earlier in their careers who are drawn from a broader and more diverse set of institutions. Along with the traditional robust mentoring that Scholars receive from members of the National Advisory Committee, Dr. Humphrey introduced a peer mentoring program—recognizing that earlier generations of Scholars were uniquely positioned to support the newer classes. This “layered mentoring” approach is, in fact, one that Dr. Humphrey emphasized in her own scholarship on mentoring.
Prior to joining the Macy Foundation, Dr. Humphrey served for 15 years as the Ralph W. Gerard Professor in Medicine and Dean for Medical Education at The University of Chicago. Dr. Humphrey was, in fact, a University of Chicago “lifer,” having earned her MD degree with honors from The University of Chicago as well as election to the Alpha Omega Alpha honor society. Following an internal medicine residency, chief residency, and pulmonary and critical care fellowship, all in the Department of Medicine at The University of Chicago, she joined the faculty in 1989, serving for 14 years as Director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program, which provided the foundation for her medical education career and her eventual role as Dean for Medical Education. Her signature programs in medical education focused on diversity and inclusion, mentoring, and professional value formation.
“Dr. Humphrey consistently supported doing the right thing professionally, diplomatically, and humbly, exhibiting the highest professional values,” said Kelley Skeff, MD, PhD, George DeForest Barnett Professor of Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine. “It was easy to see how residents and students from The University of Chicago were outstanding—they had a remarkable role model to emulate. She consistently exemplified values to which trainees, colleagues, and other program directors could aspire.”
While it is impossible to separate The University of Chicago from Dr. Humphrey’s long and distinguished career, her impact on health professions education transcends the transformative impact that she has had on the institution that was so very close to her heart. For example, in 1989, Dr. Humphrey and a colleague delivered the country’s first White Coat Ceremony address to students at The University of Chicago. The Arnold P. Gold Foundation later adopted and formalized the ceremony, one that symbolizes the responsibility entrusted upon a health professions student and signifies the importance of upholding ethical principles and providing compassionate care. Today, the Gold Foundation supports similar events in medical and nursing schools across the country. Dr. Humphrey’s legacy encompasses the continuum of medical education, and it is very true that The University of Chicago served as the laboratory where she honed and developed her ideas for exemplary clinical learning environments, formation of professional values among learners, and the importance of mentoring as a means of transmitting professional values. These ideas, which emerged from her work with learners, formed the basis of the programs and curricula she implemented and the impressive body of scholarship she produced.
Dr. Humphrey earned many notable honors and awards during her career. She was a Master of the American College of Physicians and a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (London). The NorthShore University Health System created the Holly J. Humphrey Medical Education Fund with a one million dollar gift to The University of Chicago in recognition of her leadership in medical education. The Association of Program Directors in Internal Medicine honored her with the Dema C. Daley Founders Award for national excellence as an educator, innovator, and leader. In 2020, she was elected to the National Academy of Medicine, one of the highest honors in her field. However, the awards that she most treasured centered on her role as an educator; her teaching honors included her selection as a favorite faculty by the graduating University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine students more than 25 times.
Her inclusive leadership style, thoughtful and scholarly approach to issues, and the universal respect and admiration that she commanded led to an array of leadership appointments. She served the larger academic medicine community as chair of the board of directors for the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine, chair emeritus of the American Board of Internal Medicine and of the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation, and past chair of the Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society. She also served as chair of the board of trustees for her alma mater, North Central College. She is a past president of the Association of Program Directors in Internal Medicine. She was a board member of the Bucksbaum – Siegler Institute for Clinical Excellence.
In all of her professional roles and in every stage of her distinguished and impressive career, Dr. Humphrey was guided by her abiding principles, which included centering the vulnerable—both patients and learners—and working on their behalf as a bedrock for decision-making. Committed to justice, empathy, and humility, Dr. Humphrey always asked herself, “what does the person most impacted need and what would respect, dignity, and empowerment look like for them?” and then acted accordingly. Indeed, Dr. Humphrey’s professional integrity and admirable personal values system distinguished her—not only as a national leader, but as a trusted mentor, teacher, and role model who lifted up the careers and transformed the lives of countless students, residents, faculty, and staff.
Dr. Humphrey is survived by her husband, Duane Follman, MD; her three beloved children: Sarah Follman, MD, Benjamin Follman, MD (Emma), and Hannah Follman, a journalist; and two brothers Philip (Sue) and Richard (Chris). To her family, friends, colleagues, and the many students and residents who were mentored and taught by her, we offer our most heartfelt sympathies for this loss. We also join the health professions community in gratitude for Dr. Humphrey’s remarkable and inspiring legacy—one that will continue to influence both learners and patients for years to come.
Those who wish to reach out to the family may send communications to [email protected] or by mail to The Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation, 44 East 64th Street, New York, NY 10065. A memorial service is scheduled for Friday, May 2, 2025 at Christ Church in Oak Brook, Illinois. More information is available on the memorial page website. In lieu of flowers, please send memorial contributions to student scholarship funds at either The University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine or North Central College.