Remembering Holly J. Humphrey, MD, MACP

A Message from Furman S. McDonald, President and CEO of ABIM and the ABIM Foundation

ABIM has lost a true friend and valued colleague. Holly J. Humphrey, MD, MACP, a nationally renowned leader in medical education and President of the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation, passed yesterday from pancreatic cancer.

Holly had a long and meaningful relationship with ABIM dating back to her first days on the ABIM Board of Directors in 2001. She served as the chair of the Board from 2006 to 2007 and chair of the ABIM Foundation Board of Trustees from 2014 to 2016. Holly believed strongly in the power of collaboration and her commitment to medical excellence was unwavering. Her personal warmth and profound insight made her an indispensable contributor to ABIM, the ABIM Foundation and the broader field of medicine.

Holly, a uniquely brilliant woman, was also the most kind and thoughtful person in the room. She possessed a steadfast moral compass and an elegant professionalism that elevated everyone and everything she touched.

Prior to joining the Macy Foundation, Holly was a beloved educator at the University of Chicago, where over the course of her career she served as the Ralph W. Gerard Professor in Medicine, the Director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program and ultimately the Dean for Medical Education. Her signature programs focused on diversity and inclusion, mentoring and professional value formation. Holly was a gifted and dedicated teacher whose graduating students honored her five times with the Gender Equity Award and more than 25 times with the Favorite Faculty Teaching Award.

Holly will be greatly missed at this year’s ABIM Foundation Forum. She has been and will continue to be an extraordinary influence on our work.

We extend our deepest sympathies to Holly’s family even as we personally mourn her loss and celebrate her life and legacy.

Furman S. McDonald, MD, MPH
President and Chief Executive Officer, ABIM and the ABIM Foundation
Professor of Medicine