Judy A. Shea, a retired professor of general internal medicine in the Perelman School of Medicine, died on March 14. She was 70.

Dr. Shea was born in Fort Riley, Kansas. Education was always a driving force in Dr. Shea’s life: She began her education in a one-room school in rural Dawson County, Nebraska. After graduating from Lexington High School in Lexington, Nebraska in 1972, she completed a BS in psychology from Kearney State College in 1975; a MS in family and human development from Utah State University in 1978; and a PhD in human development and family studies from Pennsylvania State University in 1981.

Dr. Shea went on to work at Penn Medicine, eventually becoming the Leon Hess Professor of Medicine in the division of general internal medicine. Dr. Shea served on the Committee on Diversity & Equity (as chair), the Committee on Pluralism, the Joint Faculty Senate/Provost Committee to Assess the Evaluation of Teaching, and the Affirmative Action Council advisory committee; she also joined Penn’s 25 Year Club in 2016.

Dr. Shea received numerous prestigious awards. At Penn, she received the Special Dean’s Award (2007), the FOCUS Award for the Advancement of Women in Medicine (2009), the Arthur K. Asbury Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award (2018), and the Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching (2020). Nationally, she received the Society of General Internal Medicine Career Achievement in Medical Education Award (2011), the Hubbard Award from the National Board of Medical Examiners (2011), the AAMC NEGEA Distinguished Educator Award (2016), and the AAMC Merrell Flair Award (2018).  

Dr. Shea dedicated her career to working with faculty and fellows to design and execute research projects. Much of her work focused on the psychometric properties of evaluation tools and developing measures to assess components of health such as health literacy, patient satisfaction, and health-related quality of life. She was PSOM’s go-to expert in quantitative survey research and qualitative methods, including focus groups and interviews, and was critical to the success of Penn’s reputation as a leader in the field of medical education research.

Dr. Shea is survived by her partner, John Norcini; her sons, Shea and Michael Norcini; her siblings, Susan Burch and Doyle Shea (Georgiann); her sisters-in-law, Joyce Norcini and Sue Stevenson; her nieces and nephew, Brandy Fogarty (Todd), Brent Burch, Grace Norcini and Helen Norcini; and a great-niece and two great-nephews.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to DGIM Judy A. Shea, PhD Faculty and Fellow Development Award Fund at https://giving.apps.upenn.edu/fund?program=MED&fund=406934.