Core Faculty
Ilene Harris, Ph.D.
Ilene Harris is currently Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Medical Education at the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago (UIC), and also Professor in the Department of Pathology, in the Division of Pathology Education. Prior to coming to UIC in 2003, Dr. Harris was at the University of Minnesota Medical School-Twin Cities, for almost 30 years, most recently as Professor and Director of the Office of Educational Development and Research. In connection with this role, she directed the Medical School’s faculty development programs, quality improvement programs, standardized patient program, and performance assessment programs, and served as mentor to hundreds of basic science and clinical faculty members. At Minnesota, she was also Professor in the College of Education, where she taught in the Curriculum and Instruction program and was a member of the graduate faculty in the Medical School’s Health Informatics Program.
Dr. Harris is well known for her national and regional leadership activities. She completed a four-year term as member of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) annual meeting Research in Medical Education (RIME) Conference Steering Committee, and served as Chair in 1999. She was the first Convener of the AAMC Central Region RIME Section, and in that role served as Program Chair for several years for the RIME portion of the Central Region Group on Education Affairs (CGEA). Currently, she is Chair of the CGEA. Dr. Harris has also had major leadership roles in the American Educational Research Association (AERA), Division of Education in the Professions (Division I), which has become a major venue for presentation of research on medical education. She was President of the Division and, prior to that, Division Secretary and Program Chair.
Dr. Harris has been a productive scholar over a long career in medical education, with research interests in clinical performance assessment, teaching in ambulatory settings, curriculum deliberation, and qualitative research methods. Her research has been reported in over 80 papers in leading peer-reviewed journals in medical education and curriculum studies and over 200 presentations at national and regional meetings. She has also served as a consultant to many organizations.
