SUNY Upstate Medical University
History he State University of New York Upstate Medical University is one of 140 academic medical centers in the United States. Such centers lead the nation in conducting medical research, educating health professionals and providing the most advanced care to patients. The mission of Upstate Medical University is to improve the health of the communities it serves through education, biomedical research and health care.
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Through its four colleges — Medicine, Graduate Studies, Nursing and Health Professions — Upstate Medical University educates physicians, research scientists, nurses and health care professionals. Upstate’s clinical system comprises Upstate University Hospital with its Downtown and Community campuses, the region’s only children’s hospital, an extensive network of specialty treatment services and the Upstate Cancer Center that is the region’s only comprehensive outpatient resource for the treatment of cancer and blood disorders for both adults and children. With its four colleges and robust research programs, Upstate Medical University is the region’s largest employer and serves as a source of medical and health leadership for Central New York and beyond. Upstate Medical University traces its history to 1834. Then, six faculty members at Geneva College founded a medical school at this small liberal arts college in upstate New York. While still in its infancy, the Geneva Medical School gained the distinction of awarding an MD degree to Elizabeth Blackwell — the first woman to become a physician in the United States. In 1871, the medical school dean, John Towler, bought the college’s medical library, anatomical museum and other tangible assets. Acting as a private citizen, Towler, along with Frederick Hyde, another former Geneva faculty member, approached Syracuse University and offered to donate these materials on the condition that Syracuse University immediately establish and maintain a regular medical college consistent with American Medical Association standards. The Geneva Medical faculty joined the Syracuse University College of Physicians and Surgeons, later known as the College of Medicine. In 1876, another trailblazer, Sarah Loguen, graduated from the medical college, becoming one of the nation’s first African American women physicians and the first woman doctor in what is now the Dominican Republic. In 1950, the Syracuse University College of Medicine was transferred to the newly organized State University of New York where it was known as Upstate Medical Center. On December 10, 1953, the central SUNY administration approved a plan to develop programs to award MS and PhD degrees in biosciences at its two medical schools. In 2009, the master’s in public health (MPH) program was introduced in the College of Medicine, with the intention of preparing students for service, teaching and research careers in public health. Today, many students seek the MPH in combination with other post-graduate degrees. In 1952, graduate studies began at Upstate, with 18 students and new courses in anatomy, biochemistry, microbiology, pathology, pharmacology and physiology. The Syracuse University College of Medicine had actually begun graduate education in the biosciences in this campus in 1947 by offering the PhD in
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