A career in community. A legacy of excellence.

“Employee No. 40,” founding department chair and regional dean Janet Townsend, MD announces retirement.

Dr. Janet Townsend’s first day at The Commonwealth Medical College just happened to be the day  the fledgling school got word of its preliminary accreditation by the LCME in 2008. She’s been at the center of every crucial moment in the life of the school ever since. That includes the charter class graduation in 2013, the moment “TCMC” became Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine in 2017, and the inaugural Geisinger Commonwealth Day in 2022 when Geisinger College of Health Sciences was announced.

Of that first memorable day in Scranton, Dr. Townsend said, “So we’re in the bank building — we didn’t even have our own building yet — and everybody was nervous, waiting all day to hear from the LCME. And then we got the great news of our accreditation and everybody jumped for joy! We had everything ready to start to advertise the fact that the school had accreditation and would be recruiting, and that started the famous bus trip to recruit the Class of 2013.”

As the recruitment bus made its way around Pennsylvania and some neighboring states and the faculty roster grew, Dr. Townsend was also occupied with helping to build a curriculum. That work, carried out by the core faculty and dedicated community partners, remains a source of great pride to Dr. Townsend.

Central to the curriculum then and now is a strong focus on being accountable to community. “From this engagement with community came a number of positive developments, especially the Community Health Research Projects (CHRPS), conducted by first-year medical student groups in partnership with community health representatives and the development of the medical school’s Behavioral Health Initiative, which Dean Steven Scheinman initiated with key regional stakeholders,” she said.

“That was really exciting work and many of those programs we developed were incorporated into the curriculum. Students got the experience of partnering with communities and that theme of partnership has been integral to our school from the beginning,” she said.

As the school became more established, it became increasingly clear that it needed a stable clinical partner to continue to flourish. In 2017, The Commonwealth Medical College found that partner in Geisinger. “I thought integration with Geisinger was exactly what we needed to do to mature and to grow. I was very excited about it,” Dr. Townsend said.

Dr. Townsend was tasked with establishing the Geisinger Commonwealth campus at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville. Since Dr. Townsend had spent her entire career before TCMC at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City, she said, “For me, it was like coming home. Here I was, once again in a big medical center and health system that provided high-value innovative care, sponsored cutting-edge research, and had a long tradition and experience of training medical students, residents and fellows. I was privileged to serve as a ‘bridge’ person, connecting medical school and system faculty members and leaders”

During the latter phase of her tenure at Geisinger, Dr. Townsend also had the opportunity to contribute to the development of the Geisinger Lewistown Rural Family Medicine Residency, collaborate in the development of the primary care theme in the new medical school curriculum, and to work with regional education leaders in advancing rural primary care.

Janet Townsend, MD

When she was appointed as faculty affairs dean in 2020, her relationships with system clinicians and administrative leaders helped her team streamline many of the faculty appointment processes, mentor faculty members toward academic promotion, and work together with other members of Dr. Byerley’s leadership team to finalize the college’s strategic plan, part of which includes creating a “home” for faculty engagement and support under the leadership of Nicole Woll, PhD, MEd, including the new Academy of Educators. “It’s just remarkable. It’s going to bear so much fruit in the future,” she said.

As she assesses her long and storied career, Dr. Townsend hopes she’ll leave a legacy that honors the vision of the medical school founders who wanted to create an institution that helps its region thrive. “I expect that the College will continue to look inward and self-assess, and adapt while also looking outward to partners whose voices, perspectives and strengths should inform our work.”

Upon Dr. Janet Townsend's retirement, Geisinger College has consolidated Faculty Affairs and Faculty Development into one group — the Center for Faculty and Professional Development — that will continue to advance work to:

• Strengthen the faculty role

• Enhance recognition of faculty contributions

• Oversee the promotions process, which is dependent on peer evaluation and faculty engagement in promotions committee work

• Support faculty to provide consistent, excellent teaching

• Expand and promote continuing professional development offerings

• Create a leading, national reputation for innovation and excellence in health professions education

This work is led by Nicole Woll, PhD, MEd, vice dean for faculty development, and will include office space in both Danville and Scranton, bringing together the resources of the entire academic system.