NEW YORK MEDICAL COLLEGE REMEMBERS Iradge Argani, M.D., Professor Emeritus of Pathology
and held the distinction of being certified in hematology, immunohematology and blood banking, and anatomic and clinical pathology, as well as immunology and allergy by the American Boards of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics. In 1978, Dr. Argani joined NYMC as professor of clinical pathology and director of clinical pathology at WMC where he created a worldclass clinical pathology service providing training for scores of residents, while pursuing his research interests in cystic fibrosis.
1929 – 2020
Respected and beloved mentor, physician and researcher, Iradge Argani, M.D., professor emeritus of pathology at New York Medical College (NYMC), died on November 5, 2020 at the age of 91. Dr. Argani was also an attending pathologist and director of clinical pathology at Westchester Medical Center (WMC). He served as interim chair of the Department of Pathology from 2005 to 2009, retiring from his clinical pathology posts in 2005. Dr. Argani obtained his undergraduate medical education at the University of Tehran and completed his postgraduate education in the United States and Canada. At the age of 34, he was appointed chief of pathology and clinical laboratories and director of the Blood Bank at Fordham Hospital in the Bronx, with an appointment as guest investigator at the Rockefeller University, followed by directorships of pathology at St. Elizabeth Hospital and St. Claire’s Hospital and Health Center in Manhattan.
Dr. Argani was an exceptional teacher of pathology and was honored with teaching awards by virtually every graduating class he taught. In addition, two graduating medical school classes honored him by dedicating their yearbooks to him. In 1993, Dr. Argani was inducted into the Robert Goldstein, M.D., Society for exceptional faculty who have won excellence in teaching honors for ten consecutive years. He was a member of Alpha Omega Alpha, the honor medical society and a recipient of a Gold Certificate for Excellence in Teaching from the NYMC Department of Pathology and a medal and a certificate of distinguished service from Westchester County.
Dr. Argani was a diplomat of the American Board of Pathology 54
C H I R O N I A N 2020
Mr. Cunningham was involved in numerous civic and charitable activities, including the former St. Clare’s Hospital and Health Center and Saint Agnes Hospital. In 1982 he received the Presidential Achievement Award and two years later was named “Man of the Year” by the New Rochelle Boys and Girls Club. In 2002 he received the NYMC William Cullen Bryant Award for distinguished leadership. He was a Knight of Malta. Mr. Cunningham received his B.S. in economics and his M.B.A. from Cornell University and was honored with the 1986 Cornell Alumni Achievement Award. He served honorably as a Captain in the United States Air Force.
Ronald J. Hagadus, M.D., Clinical Associate Professor of Ophthalmology
Gerald W. Cunningham, M.B.A., Former Member of the Board of Trustees
In 1965, Dr. Argani discovered the protein-secreting cells causing the macroglobulinemia in the leukemialike blood disorder Waldenstrom, which was published in the journal Laboratory Investigation. Later he became director of the Blood Bank of Kings County Hospital and director of clinical pathology at State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York, and was appointed associate clinical professor of pathology at the SUNY Downstate Medical Center College of Medicine.
City. He served as the president of the Metropolitan Taxicab Board of Trade and was a confidant to many political and industry leaders. He was also active in the Mayor’s Committee on Water Conservation, the Advisory Council of the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission and the Business Labor Working Group.
New York Eye and Ear Infirmary. Dr. Hagadus was an honorary member of the Society of Ophthalmology of Poland, a recognition he received for his outstanding contributions to the advancement of Polish children with glaucoma. A resident of Bedford Hills, New York, he served on the Town of Bedford Recreation and Parks Advisory Board and the Town of Bedford Veterans Advisory Committee. He was a former trustee of the Kosciuszko Foundation of New York. Dr. Hagadus and his wife, Maria, who predeceased him in 2014, were regular guests each year at the School of Medicine Honors Day, where they proudly presented the James Matthew Hagadus, M.D., Good Physician Award of New York Medical College to a member of the graduating class. They established the award in 1986 in memory of their son, James M. Hagadus, M.D. ’84, who died of cancer when he was a resident. The award honors a School of Medicine graduate who, in addition to exhibiting academic achievement, demonstrates those special intangible qualities of compassion, sensitivity, intuition and independence of spirit and intellect that make a doctor “the good physician.”
Thomas E. Hales, M.B.A., Former Member of the Board of Trustees
1927 – 2020
1934 – 2020
Dedicated and caring ophthalmologist, Ronald J. Hagadus, M.D., clinical associate professor of ophthalmology, died on February 1, 2020, at the age of 92. A longtime faculty member, Dr. Hagadus was on staff at New York Eye and Ear Infirmary and Westchester Medical Center and had private practices in Bedford Hills and New Rochelle, New York.
Astute business leader and loyal generous supporter of New York Medical College (NYMC), Gerald W. Cunningham, M.B.A., died on September 14, 2020, at the age of 85. He served as a member of the His distinguished career was Board of Trustees from 1989 to 2009. marked by many honors and awards including the President’s For more than 40 years, Mr. Award for Outstanding Teaching Cunningham operated one of the and Dedicated Service from the largest taxi fleets in New York
1936 – 2020
Respected businessman, community leader and philanthropist Thomas E. Hales, M.B.A., died on October 8, 2020, at the age of 83. He served as a member of the Board of Trustees from 2000 to 2011. Mr. Hales will be remembered for his deep sense of commitment to the community. Mr. Hales received his B.B.A. from Iona College, cum laude, and
