The program director of the state’s first program designed to diversity New York’s physician workforce has been recognized with a staff award of excellence for promoting inclusion and cultural diversity at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo. The 27-year-old post-baccalaureate program, supported by the Associated Medical Schools of New York (AMSNY) and UB’s medical school, has produced more than 400 successful graduates who otherwise would not have attended medical school.

Jaafar M. Angevin, post-baccalaureate program coordinator, Office of Medical Education in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, received the award during the school’s Faculty and Staff Recognition Awards.

Angevin was described as “the face of the medical school’s highly successful and often unsung post-baccalaureate program, which the medical school has hosted for a quarter of a century, and whose mission is to promote diversity in the physician workforce.”

At the event, Margarita Dubocovich, PhD, senior associate dean for diversity and inclusion, said: “Jaafar works tirelessly with the students in the program, helping to ensure their success and making sure they stay on track. Not only does he organize the program, but he is a cheerleader, a shoulder to cry on sometimes and an all-around counselor to the students. He is a major contributor to the overall success of the program.”