Barbara Ross-Lee

Barbara Ross-Lee, D.O. (born June 1, 1942) is an American physician, academic, and the first African-American woman to serve as dean of a U.S. medical school; she is also known as the sister of Diana Ross along with being the aunt of actress Tracee Ellis Ross, and singer-songwriters Rhonda Ross Kendrick and Evan Ross. She majored in biology and chemistry at Wayne State University, graduating in 1965. Then, in 1969, she entered Michigan State University's College of Osteopathic Medicine. Ross-Lee then went on to open her own private family practice, teach as a professor, and hold other positions within the medical community. In 1993, she was appointed dean of Ohio University's Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine. She has earned several awards and honors for her work and accomplishments. After completing the program in 1969, a new educational opportunity arose when Michigan State University opened a school of osteopathic medicine in Pontiac, a Detroit suburb, to which Ross-Lee applied and was accepted. During her tenure there, she reformulated the entire course of study, and drafted a women's curriculum, earning a reputation as a "change agent."

After leaving Heritage, she became the vice president of Health Sciences and Medical Affairs at the New York Institute of Technology; in 2002, she became dean of its New York College of Osteopathic Medicine. the fourth highest ranked osteopathic medicine program in the U.S., and helped establish NYITCOM at Arkansas State University in 2016. Ross-Lee was also an appointed member of the National Institutes of Health's Advisory Committee on Research on Women's Health and served on the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Minnesota College of Osteopathic Medicine In 2018, Ross-Lee was appointed the founding dean and chief academic officer of the Minnesota College of Osteopathic Medicine, Minnesota's first osteopathic medical school, which was to be located in Gaylord, Minnesota. Projects for the college was later disbanded to offer resources for the establish of the Kansas Health Sciences Center, whose Kansas College of Osteopathic Medicine was granted candidate status by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation as of 2021.

Maryland College of Osteopathic Medicine In February 2022, the Morgan State University Board of Regents announced in a public session minutes that Dr. Ross-Lee had been hired as president of the proposed Maryland College of Osteopathic Medicine at Morgan State University. The university anticipates pre-accreditation by 2023 and its first class of entering students in the fall of 2024.

Honors and awards Ohio Women's Hall of Fame (1998) Fellow, American Osteopathic Board of Family Physicians Member, Trilateral International Medical Workforce Group Member, NIH Advisory Committee on Research on Women's Health Member, DHHS Advisory Committee on Rural Health Distinguished Public Service Award, Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine Honorary Doctorate of Science, New York Institute of Technology Distinguished Service Certificate, AOA, October 2013 AOA's 40 Great Pioneers of Osteopathic Medicine, 2008 The History Makers Foundation’s Medical History Makers Award, 2007