Courtesy of Yale University

Yale’s search for its new chief of student health has concluded, as a Thursday email to the Yale community announced that Philomena Asante has taken on the role.

Following a four-year tenure, Christine Chen stepped down from her position as chief of student health in September. In an email to the Yale community on Thursday, Chief Medical Officer Jennifer McCarthy announced that Asante’s appointment took effect on March 30.

“Dr. Asante has experience in student health, primary care and public health. In recent years, her career path has focused on the intersection of health and education,” McCarthy wrote in the email. “We look forward to Dr. Asante bringing a renewed focus and guidance to this very important leadership role at Yale Health.” 

After graduating from Harvard College with a degree in literature and French, Asante received a master’s in public health from the Harvard School of Public Health and her medical degree from the University of Rochester School of Medicine. 

Asante completed her residency in pediatrics at Westchester Medical Center — an affiliate of New York Medical College — before pursuing a post-graduate fellowship education in Boston. 

In Asante’s new role, she will be in charge of student health and wellness initiatives across campus, in addition to working with Yale Mental Health and Counseling and spearheading the expansion of the new student health office. 

“We are excited to welcome Dr. Asante and are currently coordinating an extensive on-boarding and orientation process to ensure success,” chief clinical operations officer and interim Yale Health director Nanci Fortgang told the News.

In addition to supporting Yale Health’s broader effort to move past the COVID-19 pandemic, Asante told the News that she hopes to increase access to high-quality clinical care and to further integrate health and wellness into life on campus. 

“We want to break silos and meet students where they are — it’s a community public health approach to health and wellness,” Asante told the News. 

On a more personal note, Asante shared that coming to Yale is a “homecoming” for her, as her father attended Yale Law School and her mother worked as a midwife at Yale New Haven Hospital.

McCarthy told the News that the search for the new chief of student health was led by a team of stakeholders from different areas of the university. 

Stakeholders provided feedback on the role’s importance and helped the search committee craft a detailed overview of the experiences and qualities that were most important to look out for when interviewing candidates. 

“Our search committee worked with a search firm who specializes in higher education roles, and they conducted their national search,” McCarthy wrote to the News. “We are very hopeful that as we move to the other side of the pandemic, Dr. Asante will lead her team in many clinical endeavors.” 

Yale Health is located at 55 Lock St.