Karl P. Adler, M.D., an experienced leader in healthcare and academia served as president and chief executive officer of New York Medical College from 2007-2011.

Dr. Adler is a professor of medicine at the College, where he has been a member of the faculty since 1981. He served as chief of the Department of Medicine at Metropolitan Hospital Center in Manhattan, one of the College’s major clinical affiliates, until 1987, when he was named dean of the NYMC School of Medicine and provost and vice president for medical affairs. In 1994 he left the College to become president and chief executive officer of St. Vincent’s Hospital and Medical Center in New York, N.Y., another of the College’s major clinical affiliates.

Dr. Adler also serves as the Archbishop’s Delegate for Health Care in the Archdiocese of New York and as chairman of the board of the Catholic Health Care System. 

Dr. Adler has held academic appointments throughout New York State, including Albany Medical College, SUNY-Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, and Cornell University Medical College in New York. He has held leadership appointments at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, Ellis Hospital in Schenectady and Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn. In 1987 he was appointed by Gov. Mario M. Cuomo to the New York State Task Force for Life and the Law, and until December 2004 held an appointment as a member of the New York State Hospital Review and Planning Council. 

A native of Paterson, N.J., Dr. Adler graduated from Seton Hall University in South Orange, N.J., in 1962, and received his medical degree from Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C. in 1966. He completed residency training at Bellevue Hospital, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and New York Hospital in Manhattan. A resident of Manhattan, he is a diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine.

Harry C. Barrett, D.Min., M.P.H., served as president and chief executive officer of New York Medical College from August 1992 to December 31, 2006.

During Dr. Barrett's 14-year tenure, he implemented a College-wide strategic plan resulting in campus improvements including the construction of the Medical Education Center, the Alumni Gross Anatomy Laboratory and the Alumni Computer Learning Laboratory. He also led the development of the Center for Disaster Medicine, the Hudson Valley Center for Health Sciences, Biotechnology and Public Health, the Institute for Bioethics, and the New Yorkers Caring for New York program. He directed a number of ground-breaking regional health care initiatives addressing such topics as bioterrorism, the health of local immigrant populations, the treatment of post-traumatic stress syndrome in victims of mass trauma and the nation's need for more primary-care physicians. Under his leadership, the College saw increased research funding and fundraising as well as improved student performance.

Prior serving as president, he served as Director of Pastoral Formation at St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, N.Y., from 1986-1992. In addition, Dr. Barrett was a professor of pastoral psychology at the Seminary.

From 1982 to 1986, he served as the Director of the Hospital Apostolate for the Archdiocese of New York, working closely with chaplains in all hospitals and nursing homes in the Archdiocese. Previously, Msgr. Barrett was Acting Supervisor of the Clinical Pastoral Education Department at Cabrini Medical Center in New York City. From 1977 to 1986, he was a faculty member at the St. John Neumann Residence in Riverdale, N.Y., and from 1976 to 1981, served as Associate Director of the Department of Health and Hospitals, Archdiocese of New York.

Dr. Barrett was ordained to the Roman Catholic priesthood on May 26, 1973, and served as a parish priest and hospital chaplain in the New York City borough of the Bronx, until 1977. During this period, he was also involved with the Family Consultation Service of the Archdiocese of New York as Supervisor of Counselors, with prior experience as a Counselor and Psychometrician. He was elevated to the rank of Monsignor in 1995.

Dr. Barrett had been a member of various professional associations including the Catholic Health Association, American Public Health Association, Greater New York Hospital Association, New York State Catholic Conference and the National Association of Catholic Chaplains He was a Fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine. Dr. Barrett served on the Board of Directors of St. Joseph's Medical Center in Yonkers, New York, Rosary Hill Home in Hawthorne, New York, and the Westchester County Association in White Plains, New York.

Born on November 20, 1946, Dr. Barrett was a 1968 graduate of St. Joseph's Seminary. He received an M.S. in Education and Counseling from St. John's University, and in 1973, was awarded a Masters of Divinity degree from St. Joseph's Seminary. In 1980, he received a Masters of Public Health degree from Columbia University and in 1986, he was awarded a Doctor of Ministry/Pastoral Psychology degree from the New York Theological Seminary.

Dr. Barrett passed away on Friday, August 25, 2017, at the age of 70.

John J. Connolly, Ed.D., served as president and chief executive officer of New York Medical College (NYMC) from 1981-1992. Prior serving as president of NYMC, he served as president of The State University of New York (SUNY)-Dutchess Community College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y, for seven years.

Dr. Connolly co-founded the American Lyme Disease Foundation with David Weld in 1985, and is a fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine and a fellow of the New York Academy of Sciences.

During Dr. Connolly's tenure at New York Medical College, research at the College sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other agencies grew from $.45 million to over $5 million; fundraising increased from $1.5 million to over $5 million annually; and endowment grew from $1.5 million to $33 million.

In other areas, Dr. Connolly directed the rebuilding of the College's physical plant, and spearheaded the creation of eight institutes and centers, to bring together faculty from different departments who have special expertise in a given area. Also, the College strengthened its clinical teaching facilities for medical students through the development of a network of hospital affiliations. 

Since 2006, he has been president & CEO of Castle Connolly Medical Ltd., a publisher best known for America’s Top Doctors. Dr. Connolly holds a Bachelor of Science from Worcester State College, a master's degree from the University of Connecticut, and a Doctor of Education in College and University Administration from Teacher's College of Columbia University.

James P. Cassidy, Ph.D., served as chancellor of New York Medical College from 1987 to 1992.

Dr. James P. Cassidy, Ph.D., became a member of the NYMC Board of Trustees in 1972 when he was the director of the Department of Health and Hospitals Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York with responsibility for 17 Catholic hospitals and home care agencies. He also served for many years as the second vice chairman and secretary of the Board of Trustees and was a member of the executive committee prior to becoming chancellor.

During Dr. Cassidy’s tenure on the Board of Trustees, he was instrumental in the conversion of Flower and Fifth Avenue Hospital into a specialty hospital serving the developmentally disabled, now known as Terence Cardinal Cooke Health Care Center (TCC). Today TCC remains a College affiliate and provides exceptional long-term residential care, short-term rehabilitation and other vital health services for people with diverse needs.

During his term as chancellor, Dr. Cassidy’s interest and experience in international health led him to establish the Institute for International Health to utilize the expertise of the College’s faculty and resources to provide professional assistance, on-site training, technical expertise and financial support to advance global health care.

Dr. Cassidy departed NYMC in 1992 when he was appointed to a Vatican post in Rome to establish an International Association of Catholic Health Institutions under the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Assistance to Health Care Workers.

Dr. Cassidy received a B.A. degree from St. Joseph’s Seminary and College and was ordained a priest in 1951. He received an M.S. degree and a Ph.D. in educational psychology, counseling and guidance from Fordham University where he completed postgraduate work in clinical psychology. He completed a postgraduate residency in clinical psychology at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Manhattan.

Dr. Cassidy served as a parish priest for many years and was a marriage counselor, senior clinical psychologist, director of Family Consultation Service, and associate professor at St. John’s University. He was elevated to the rank of Monsignor in 1968, and was appointed Prelate to His Holiness and served as director of the International Federation of Catholic Medical Associations, director of International Association of Catholic Health Institutions at the Vatican, administrator of Holy Spirit Church in Cortland Manor, N.Y. and staff psychologist and director of counseling at the Pontifical North American College in Vatican City. He was in residence at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City from 2003 to 2010.

Dr. Cassidy was a Conventual Chaplain ad honorem of the Order of Malta. He was elected assistant principal chaplain of the American Association and was awarded the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta Grand Cross Condentual Chaplain ad honorem. He was awarded the Grand Cross Pro Piis Meritis in May 2015 on the occasion of his 90th birthday celebration.

Dr. Cassidy died on October 14, 2015, at the age of 90.

Joseph A. Cimino, M.D., M.P.H., served as president and chief executive officer of New York Medical College (NYMC) from 1978-1981.

Dr. Cimino held a bachelor's degree in American history from Harvard University and went on to earn an M.S. in biology from Fordham University and his M.D. at the University of Buffalo. After his residency at Grasslands Hospital in Valhalla, Dr. Cimino returned to Harvard to earn two more master’s degrees, one in industrial health and one in public health.

His early career experience included serving as the chief medical officer of the New York City Department of Sanitation, chief medical consultant of the New York City Civil Service Commission and medical director of the New York City Poison Control Center.

In 1972, Dr. Cimino was appointed by Mayor John Lindsay as Commissioner of Health of New York City, making him the youngest commissioner in the city’s history. Under his auspices, regulations were strengthened, and he instituted the first mandatory course in environmental sanitation for all New York restaurants and food stores.

Dr. Cimino was appointed the commissioner of hospitals and medical director for Westchester County in 1974 at a time when Grasslands Hospital was under state order to rebuild or close. Dr. Cimino took on the task of changing the community hospital into a tertiary care center, which became Westchester Medical Center. He decided which specialty programs to offer and recruited physicians for the facility that eventually would serve the seven county region north of New York City.

After leaving county government in 1978, Dr. Cimino served as president of the College until 1981. He held the title of professor and chairman of the Department of Community and Preventive Medicine from 1979 until the time of his death. Throughout his career, he also held faculty appointments at Pace University, New York University School of Medicine, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, and Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Dr. Cimino served on numerous professional associations and boards including Dominican Sisters Family Health Service, Healthcare Trustees of New York State, The New York Academy of Medicine Public Health Committee and the New York State Public Health Council. In 2004 he was awarded an Ellis Island Medal of Honor.

Dr. Cimino passed away on July 1, 2007, at the age of 73.

Kathleen C. Morton, M.D., served as president from 1977-1978--the institution's first female president.

Originally from the United Kingdom, Dr. Morton practiced pediatrics in the eastern part of the state of Washington. Prior to coming to the College, Dr. Morton served on the faculty at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine from 1971 to 1977, becoming the first woman named dean of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1975.

Lawrence Boris Slobody, M.D. '36, served as acting president of New York Medical College from 1971-72, and as president from 1972-1977. He also served as acting dean from 1965 - 1966.

Dr. Slobody was a pediatrician, author and educator. Born in New York City in 1910, he earned a Bachelor of Science in 1930 from New York University and his M.D. from New York Medical College. Dr. Slobody completed his internship and residency at Metropolitan Hospital.

Dr. Slobody was appointed chief of the Frederick S. Wheeler Laboratory for Nutritional Research at the College in 1943, and was instrumental in College researchers developing early tests for Vitamin C and B deficiencies.

Dr. Slobody was professor and chairman of the Department of Pediatrics from 1948 to 1963, was appointed director of the Center for Maternal and Child Health in 1963, and became vice president and acting dean in 1966.

Dr. Slobody was known for his active development of baby products and his work with those who people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. He developed the first multi-disciplined clinic for diagnosis and treatment of the mentally retarded and people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and was the first Gold Medal recipient of the Association for the Help of Mentally Retarded Children. In 1954, he was the youngest physician elected to the American Pediatric Society.

He received the 1950 award from the Association for the Help of Retarded Children for “the physician who has contributed the most to the help of retarded children.” He was the author of the classic Survey of Clinical Pediatrics (1959), and an author of journal articles related to diaper rashes, mental retardation and medical education.

His positions were many: President of the Medical Board of Metropolitan Hospital; Chairman, Section of Pediatrics of the New York Academy of Medicine; Chairman, Pediatric Advisory Committee of the New York City Department of Health; Vice President of the Coordinating Council for Cerebral Palsy; Chairman, Advisory Committee on Mental Retardation of the New York State Interdepartmental Health Resources Board.

In 1996, he published another book, The Golden Years: A 12-Step Anti-Aging Plan for a Longer, Healthier, and Happier Life (Bergin & Garvey). As Acting Dean, Vice President and eventually President of NYMC, he was instrumental in developing the early departments and sections for Geriatrics. Because of Dr. Slobody’s influence, the New York City Department of Hospitals with the help of the College, established the 2,000-bed Bird S. Coler Center specializing in research and care for the aging.

In retirement, he divided time between Amherst, Massachusetts, and Florida and raised horses, and even edited a book devoted to the Currier and Ives lithographs of American trotting horses.

Lawrence B. Slobody, M.D. '36 passed away on April 23, 2001, at the age of 90.

Frederick Logan Stone, Ph.D., served as president of New York Medical College from 1970 to 1971.

Prior to becoming president, Dr. Stone served in various capacities at National Institutes of Health (NIH), ultimately being appointed as NIH's National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) second director from 1964 until 1970.

In addition to his leadership positions at NIH, Stone's career included service in the Marine Corps during World War II where he was awarded two Purple Hearts. In 1954 and 1955, he was assistant vice chancellor for professional services in the schools of the health professions at the University of Pittsburgh.

Born in Biloxi, Miss., Dr. Stone earned a Bachelor of Science in chemistry in 1937 from Middlebury College in Vermont. He continued his studies at the University of Rochester, where he earned a Master of Science in biology in 1942 and a Ph.D. in biology and genetics in 1948.

Frederick L. Stone, Ph.D., passed away on October 19, 1998, at the age of 83 in Alabama.

Jackson E. Spears served as a member of New York Medical College’s Board of Trustees for sixty years, from 1943 to 2003.

Loyal, steadfast, sharp-witted, selfless, practical, wise, and relentless in his promotion of the College and its mission, Mr. Spears was a member of virtually every board committee during his tenure, serving as trustee, then as vice chairman of the Board from 1956 to 1964 and as chairman from 1965 to 1970, and on two separate occasions as acting president of the College.

Jackson Spears joined the Board of Trustees in 1943 when the College was located in New York City as New York Medical College-Flower and Fifth Avenue Hospitals. In the pivotal years of the 1960s, Mr. Spears was instrumental in guiding the College through times of reorganization and change. He played leadership roles in separating the positions of president and dean of the School of Medicine, working with the first faculty of the NYMC Graduate School of Basic Medical Sciences to establish governance of the school, and in the decisions to relocate the College from New York City to Valhalla and affiliate with the Archdiocese of New York.

The William Cullen Bryant Medal, the College's highest honor, was bestowed on Mr. Spears in 1983, the first year it was awarded. Ten years later, he received three more honors--the Distinguished Service Medal at Winter Convocation and an honorary Doctor of Science degree at commencement and the Terence Cardinal Cooke Award for Distinguished Service in Health Care. The citation read, "A wonderful man who has given unselfishly of himself to our college for half a century. A man of sharp practical wisdom...Through the years, he has led New York Medical College as it grew in size and stature."

Born in Dallas, Texas, on October 19, 1906, Mr. Spears graduated from Southern Methodist University, where he was elected to Tau Kappa Alpha, an honorary scholarship and debating fraternity. He went on to pursue graduate studies at Harvard Law School before starting a business career with Stone and Webster, a New York City engineering and public holding company. Five years later he entered the textile industry, serving as vice president of E. Gerli & Co., National Mallinson Fabrics Corporation and Burlington Industries, from which he retired in 1961.

In retirement, Mr. Spears remained very active in numerous civic functions in New York and Connecticut. Most prominent was his service on the boards of St. Joseph's Medical Center and Stamford Hospital in Stamford, St. Joseph's Manor in Trumbull, the Choate School Development Fund, the Darien Chapter of the American Red Cross, the Foreign Policy Association, the American Cancer Society of New York City and the Child Guidance Center of Greater Stamford. He received an award for distinguished service in the field of human relations from the National Conference of Christian and Jews [today known as the National Conference for Community and Justice (NCCJ)] in New York City.

Mr. Spears' other honors include receiving an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa from Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn., in 1989, the Benemerenti Medal from the Holy See and becoming a Knight of the Sovereign Order of Malta. In 1992 Pope John Paul II made him a Knight of the Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great.

A resident of New Canaan, Conn., Mr. Spears' last honor came in 2000 when the College created the Jackson E. Spears Community Service Award, bestowed for the first time at the College's annual dinner to medical correspondent Max Gomez, Ph.D. The Award is bestowed upon those individuals and organizations that have demonstrated exceptional service and commitment to our communities.

The College continues to mourn the loss of this valuable member of our community, who passed away on July 14, 2003, at the age of 96. Mr. Spears and his wife, Evelyn Helen Gerli, had three sons, William G. Spears, Jackson E. Spears Jr. and Joseph G. Spears.

David D. Denker, Ph.D., served as president of the College from 1967-1969.

Dr. Denker was appointed president of the College on October 26, 1966. Prior to starting his term as president of the College on July 1, 1967, Dr. Denker served in various capacities at Rutgers University including assistant to Rutgers University President Mason W. Gross and professor of social science at Rutgers. He was instrumental in founding Rutgers Medical School in 1962 and the hiring of its first dean DeWitt Stetten, Jr., M.D., Ph.D., later NIH deputy director for science.

Born in Denver, Colo. on April 32, 1915, Dr. Denker served in the U.S. Army during the World War II before graduating with his B.A. at Yale in 1948. At Yale, he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and was graduated with honors and exception distinction in history. In graduate school at Yale, he held several fellowships and received his doctorate in 1951, and later became instructor in history and Rockefeller Fellow at Yale from 1951 to 1952.

Dr. Denker passed away on June 7, 1992, at the Princeton Medical Center, in Princeton, N.J. He was 77 years old and lived in Jamesburg, N.J.

Ralph E. Snyder, M.D. '1950, served as president of New York Medical College from 1959 to 1966.

At the age of 37, Dr. Snyder became one of the youngest presidents of an educational institution in the U.S. Prior to that, Dr. Snyder was appointed assistant dean in 1951, as executive dean in 1953, and as acting president from 1957-1959.

Dr. Snyder was born in Herkimer, N.Y. He graduated from Harvard University in 1943 with an A.B. degree. Following three years of service with the U.S. Army in China, Burma, and India, he enrolled at New York Medical College and received his M.D. in 1950. He interned at the College's Flower and Fifth Avenue Hospitals.

Dr. Snyder started his career at his alma mater immediately upon graduation, serving as assistant dean. Four years later, he was appointed executive dean with the responsibility of accreditation.

During his tenure of office as dean, Dr. Snyder was responsible for the College's rapid growth and for the complete reorganization of the teaching program. Dr. Snyder developed resident clinical clerkships which led to the elimination of the traditional internship. He broadened the educational focus of the College, creating the graduate and post graduated divisions in nursing with degree granting authority including the Ph.D. While president of the College, he was presented with the Bronze Medal of the City of New York for his contributions to education, research and health care. Dr. Snyder left the College in 1966 to serve as director of professional relations for Merck Sharp and Dohme.

In 1977, he moved to Whispering Pines, N.C. and joined a citizen group that founded the Aberdeen Medical Clinic. In 1984, Dr. Snyder became medical director of North Carolina Medicare Peer Review Organization, responsible for oversight of care provided to Medicare patients. He held that position at the time of his death.

Ralph E. Snyder, M.D. '1950, passed away on August 6, 2000, in Pinehurst, N.C., at the age of 78

Upon the death of College President and Acting Dean Claude Burrett, J.A.W. Hetrick Jr., M.D., ‘1918, served as acting dean from 1941-1942, then as dean from 1942-1953, and then as president from 1953-1957.

Dr. Hetrick was born in Asbury Park, N.J., in April 1895. He enrolled at New York Medical College and graduated under the accelerated program during World War I. He graduated in February 1918 and interned at the College's Flower and Fifth Avenue Hospitals and also at Essex County Hospital in New Jersey. He later studied at Post Graduate College of the New York Ophthalmic Hospital where he received his credentials in Eye, Nose and Throat in 1921.

Dr. Hetrick later becomes superintendent of Essex County Hospital, and in 1922, was made an instructor of otolaryngology at the College. In 1924, he acted as registrar in the College's administrative offices. In 1927, he became assistant dean and in 1935 he became associate dean. He was made professor and head of the Department of Otolaryngology in 1928. Dr. Hetrick was made a member of the American College in 1926 and became a diplomate of the Board of Otolaryngology in 1935.

In 1941, shortly after the death of College President and Acting Dean Burrett, Dr. Hetrick was appointed acting dean. A short time later Dr. Hetrick was appointed dean and later president of the College. In May 1948, through his efforts, he founded a new society titled, The Society of the New York Medical College Flower and Fifth Avenue Hospitals and Affiliated Institutions, which, in 1992, later becomes the New York Medical College Medical Education Consortium managed by the NYMC School of Medicine Office of Graduate Medical Education (GME).

On November 21, 1918, he married Lillian Morgan. Ms. Morgan volunteered at Prentiss Library at the College's Flower and Fifth Avenue Hospital which, when the library was moved across the hall in 1966, was renamed the Lillian Morgan Hetrick Library (1966-1970) in honor of her years of service.

In 2006, their daughter, Lillian Hetrick Huber, upon her death, bequeathed $1 million to endow the College's Health Sciences Library. Mrs. Huber’s son (and grandson of the late Dr. J.A.W. Hetrick Jr.), Jeffrey B. Chick, M.D.’75, presented the gift to the College at the dedication ceremony announcing The Lillian Hetrick Huber Health Sciences Library Directorship Endowment.

Born in North Greece, Monroe County, New York, on July 13, 1878, Claude A. Burrett, Ph.B., M.D., FACS, graduated with a medical degree from the Cleveland Homeopathic Medical College in 1905.

Dr. Burrett was director of the pathogenic laboratory and instructor in toxicology at the University of Michigan College of Homeopathic Medicine, Ann Arbor, from 1905 to 1908; from 1908 to 1913, assistant professor of genito-urinary surgery, deriatology and electro-therapeutics; and from 1913 to 1914, professor of surgery and genitourinary surgery. At the Ohio State University College of Homeopathic Medicine, Columbus, Dr. Burrett was professor of surgery and acting dean from 1914 to 1915, and dean and professor of surgery from 1915 to 1922.

At the New York Medical College, Flower and Fifth Avenue Hospitals, he was dean, professor of surgery and director from 1925 to 1939, and its president from 1939 to 1941. He was elected a Fellow of the Academy November 4, 1937. Dr. Burrett was a Fellow and a former member of the Board of Governors of the American College of Surgeons, a member of the Medical Council of the State Board of Regents, a trustee of Syracuse University, a Fellow of the American Medical Association and a member of the State and County Medical Societies. During the World War, Dr. Burrett was surgeon to the student army training corps at Ohio State University and a member of the medical division of the Ohio Defense Board.

Claude A. Burrett passed away in New York City on March 3, 1941.

Israel Simon Kleiner, Ph.D., served as acting dean of New York Medical College (NYMC) from 1921-1922 and dean from 1922-1925.

Born in New Haven, Conn., Dr. Kleiner graduated from Yale University with a Ph.B. (1906) and Ph.D. (1909) in physiological chemistry. He is credited as being the first to demonstrate the effect of extracts from the pancreas causing hypoglycemia which eventually helped lead to the discovery of insulin.

Dr. Kleiner came to NYMC in 1919 as a professor of physiological chemistry. After retiring from the deanship in 1925, he continued to serve on the faculty and in 1948 he became the director of the Department of Physiological Chemistry. Dr. Kleiner co-authored highly regarded textbooks such as Human Biochemistry (with James M. Orten) and Laboratory Instructions in Biochemistry (with Louis B. Dotti). Prior to joining NYMC, Dr. Kleiner worked at the Rockefeller Institute and served on the faculty of Tulane University.

He was the 1959 recipient of the Van Skye Award in Clinical Chemistry from the New York Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Kleiner passed away in New York City on June 15, 1966, at 81 years old.

Baruch Dayan Haemes - Dr. Mark Hasten, ז"ל Chairman of the Board, Touro College & University System and New York Medical College.

MarkIt is with deep sorrow and pain that we inform you of the passing of Dr. Mark Hasten, (ז"לר' מרדכי בן ר' דוב ), longtime and esteemed Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Touro College and University System and New York Medical College. A friend and mentor to all of us, Dr. Hasten was a visionary leader and ardent supporter of Touro since he joined the board in 1977.

A dear friend to Touro founder, Dr. Bernard Lander, who considered him a brother, Dr. Hasten led an extraordinary life. He survived the horrors of WWII as a child, fought for Israel’s Independence and became an inventor and highly successful businessman. Passionate about both education and Jewish continuity, Dr. Hasten, together with his brother Hart, built the Jewish day school in his hometown of Indianapolis and with his wife, Mrs. Anna Ruth Hasten, supported Jewish life and causes all over the world. Dr. Hasten’s business acumen and expertise helped realize Dr. Lander’s educational vision for Touro and the school doubled in size over the course of his tenure. After Dr. Lander’s passing, Dr. Hasten worked hand in hand with Touro President Dr. Alan Kadish to continue building the institution and their joint efforts and close friendship were the springboard to propel Touro to become the premier institution of higher learning under Jewish auspices in the United Stated and around the world.

Dr. Mark Hasten will be sorely missed by his family, the Touro family and the entire Jewish community.

המקום ינחם אתכם בתוך שאר אבלי ציון וירושלים

Ronald F. Poe serves as a member of the NYMC Board of Trustees and served as its chairman from 1999 - 2010. He is president of Ronald F. Poe & Associates, a private real estate investment and consulting firm. Mr. Poe is also a trustee of the Gregorian Foundation, a former member of the Board of Directors of the Community Preservation Corporation and a former Chairman of the Freddie Mac Foundation. He holds an Honorary Doctor of Commercial Science Degree from Pace University and the 1996 Distinguished Alumni Award from Canisius College. Mr. Poe is also a member of the American Association of The Sovereign Military Order of Malta.

In 2016, Ronald Poe was awarded the Jackson E. Spears Community Service Award, which is bestowed upon individuals or organizations who have demonstrated exceptional service and commitment to their communities.

Joseph D. Mark is a business leader, entrepreneur and philanthropist. He assumed his role as chair of the Board of Trustees of New York Medical College (NYMC) in July 2020, after serving for nearly a decade as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Touro College and University System (TCUS). In addition to his service to the College, he currently serves as chair of Apos Therapy and a member of the board of directors of the Visiting Nurse Service of New York (VNSNY).

Both professionally and from a philanthropic standpoint, Mr. Mark has been involved in health care and education throughout the span of his career and views his role as chair of the Board as the ideal nexus between two fields about which he is extraordinarily passionate.

A former venture capitalist and investment banker on Wall Street who established himself as a seasoned leader in the health science and education fields, Mr. Mark acquired, built, and over time, successfully sold several health care companies. Throughout his career, he led these companies in becoming more efficient and better able to meet the needs of patients at a more affordable cost.

Mr. Mark holds a bachelor's degree from Columbia University and a master in business administration from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He is married to Meryl Schlussel Mark, M.D., a gynecologist in private practice, with whom he has three grown children and three grandchildren.