Paula Watkins MAS, EdD

Paula Watkins is the Assistant Dean of Admissions for Rowan University – School of Osteopathic Medicine, (RowanSOM) where she is responsible to oversee the medical school admissions process that includes 5000+ applications each year. She also develops, implements and oversees pipeline programs to increase recruitment and retention with an emphasis on diversity and underrepresented students. She designed a 6 week summer medical school immersion program RAISE (Recognizing Achievement and Inspiring Student Excellence) to expose high achieving 11th and 12th grade students from local South Jersey high schools to osteopathic medicine.

At the completion of its’ first year, the program saw three participants who had a greater awareness of osteopathic medicine, enroll in an accelerated medical program with Rowan University and RowanSOM. Mrs. Watkins has been recognized nationally for her knowledge of recruitment and retention of students from diverse backgrounds. She received the Excellence in Diversity Award for Scholarship by Rowan University and she served as Chair of the Council of Osteopathic Medical School Admissions Officers, (COMAO) in June 2004 and June 2012. She was awarded the Rowan University first Excellence in Diversity Award.

She is a member of the Northeast Diversity Collaborative, (NEDC) a member of the AACOM Diversity Task Force and the AACOM Advisory Council. She received the Community Service Award from the Woodland Community Development Corporation, (WCDC) for her support of their student initiatives. She also serves as a site visitor for the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation, (COCA). Ms. Watkins holds a B.A. in sociology and a B.A. in technical writing from Alderson Broaddus University, and a Masters’ degree in Administrative Science from Fairleigh Dickinson University.