SUNY Downstate to Graduate New Health Professionals at Commencement Ceremonies May 28

BROOKLYN, N.Y., May 21 -- The State University of New York'sDownstate Medical Center issued the following news release:

SUNY Downstate Medical Center will send a new class of physicians, nurses, allied health professionals, research scientists, and public health professionals into the world on Wednesday, May 28, at commencement ceremonies at Carnegie Hall.

The ceremony for the College of Medicine, School of Graduate Studies, and School of Public Health will take place at 3:00 pm and the ceremony for the College of Health Related Professions and College of Nursing will be held at 7:00 pm. Downstate President John F. Williams, Jr., MD, EdD, MPH, FCCM, will deliver greetings and closing remarks at both ceremonies.

College of Medicine, School of Graduate Studies, and School of Public Health

The College of Medicine will graduate 218 new physicians. The School of Graduate Studies will grant PhD degrees to 10 students, four of whom are also receiving their MD degree from the College of Medicine. The School of Public Health will grant one Doctor of Public Health degree and 40 Master of Public Health (MPH) degrees. Six MPH degree recipients will also receive an MD degree. Four Advanced Certificates in Public Health also will be awarded.

Donald E. Wilson, MD, MACP, will deliver the commencement address at the afternoon ceremony and also receive an honorary Doctor of Science degree from the State University of New York. A nationally known advocate for diversity and equity in health care, medical education, and biomedical research, he is currently the John Z. and Akiko J. Bowers Distinguished Professor and Dean Emeritus at the University of Maryland at Baltimore School of Medicine (UMB), where he formerly served as dean, vice president for medical affairs, and professor of medicine. When appointed to UMB in 1991, Dr. Wilson became the nation's first African-American dean at a predominantly white medical school. During his tenure as dean, the student body became more diverse and the number of full time underrepresented minority faculty more than doubled. At the same time, research funding more than quadrupled. Prior to UMB, Dr. Wilson served 11 years as chair of medicine at SUNY Downstate.

Doctor of Science degrees will also be awarded to Florence Kavaler, MD, MS, MPH, and Marvin Moser, MD, FACP, FACC.

Dr. Kavaler is a leader in public health and a pioneer in quality assurance and health risk management. Over her long career, she has launched initiatives to improve quality and access to care; implemented programs to root out fraud in health care; and trained large numbers of professionals who went on to become leaders in public health. Dr. Kavaler graduated from Downstate's College of Medicine in 1961. She has served with the New York City Department of Health, the U. S. Public Health Service, and the Milbank Memorial Fund Commission for the Study of Higher Education in Public Health. Now retired, she also served as associate dean for research administration in Downstate's Schoolof Public Health, where she chaired two departments: Health Policy and Management, and Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences.

Dr. Moser, a 1947 graduate of Downstate's College of Medicine, is a pioneer in treating and preventing hypertension. Called a "hypertension icon," Dr. Moser has evaluated virtually every anti-hypertension medication in a distinguished career spanning almost six decades. He is currently clinical professor of medicine at the Yale University School of Medicine. At a time when hypertension was not universally considered harmful, Dr. Moser was among the first physicians to identify its seriousness and that its complications could be prevented or possibly reversed. He was also among the first to stress the role of salt in the diet, the benefits of combination therapy, the cost and cost-effectiveness of therapy, and the fact that Blacks are more susceptible to the complications of hypertension than other populations.

Kiyomi Koizumi, MD, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Physiology and Pharmacology, will be presented with the President's Award, which is given to distinguished professionals who have made significant contributions to health care or to society and who have also served SUNY Downstate in an extraordinary capacity. Dr. Koizumi has devoted her entire professional career to Downstate. She is recognized internationally as one of the great pioneers in the field of hypothalamic electrophysiology and has been praised for her clarity of thought and logic and reasoning. Her research focus has been on control mechanisms of the autonomic nervous system, which regulates sensory impulses, brainstem function, and the generation of biological rhythms, and interpreting them through an integrative approach. Her work was continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health for more than 40 years. From 1990 to 1998, she led the Department of Physiology as interim chair.

Monika Crowley, PhD, will receive the Ailanthus Award. The award is named after the Ailanthus altissima, the rugged tree featured in the Betty Smith novel, "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn." The award is given to those whose tenacity and dedication has benefited SUNY Downstate and the people of Brooklyn. Dr. Crowley is senior managing director and partner at the Public Resources Advisory Group, one of the top three financial advisory firms to state and local governments in the nation and the largest in New York State by volume. She is also president of the John Conley Foundation for Ethics and Philosophy in Medicine, which was founded by her late husband, an otolaryngologist recognized worldwide for the many significant contributions he made in the treatment of cancer of the head and neck. Dr. Monika Conley has been involved with the Foundation since its inception. SUNY Downstate's Division of Humanities in Medicine received funding from the early days of the Foundation to support lectures and educational activities promoting ethics and professionalism for students, residents, and faculty. In 2012, the Division was renamed the John Conley Division of Medical Ethics and Humanities to acknowledge continued and enhanced support from the Foundation.

College of Health Related Professions and College of Nursing

The College of Nursing will award 68 Bachelor of Science degrees in the RN to BS program and 58 Bachelor of Science degrees in the Accelerated BS program. Master of Science degrees will be granted in nursing (clinical nurse specialist), family nurse practitioner, nurse anesthesia, nurse midwifery, and women's health nurse practitioner, totaling 66 MS degrees. The four nurse midwifery graduates also receive the Advanced Certificate in Midwifery from the College of Health Related Professions.

The College of Health Related Professions will graduate 138 students, granting Bachelor of Science degrees in diagnostic medical imaging and physician assistant. Master of Science degrees will be granted in medical informatics, midwifery, and occupational therapy. Bachelor of Science in health sciences/Doctor of Physical Therapy degrees will also be granted, as will an Advanced Certificate in Midwifery.

Susan B. Hassmiller, PhD, RN, FAAN, will be the speaker at the evening ceremony and will receive an honorary Doctor of Science degree. Dr. Hassmiller joined the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in 1997, and is presently its senior advisor for nursing. In this role, she shapes and leads the Foundation's strategies to address nurse and nurse faculty shortages in an effort to create a higher quality of patient care in the United States. Dr. Hassmiller serves as co-director of the Future of Nursing Scholars program, an initiative that provides scholarships, mentoring, and leadership development activities and postdoctoral research funding to build the leadership capacity of nurse educators and researchers. In partnership with the AARP, Dr. Hassmiller directs the Foundation's Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action, which seeks to increase access to high-quality, patient-centered care in a healthcare system where nurses contribute as essential partners in achieving success. Among the many awards Dr. Hassmiller has received is the Florence Nightingale Medal, the highest honor given to a nurse by the International Red Cross.

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