Dr. Steven M. Safyer, President and CEO Of Montefiore, to Deliver Einstein's 2010 Commencement Address

May 24, 2010 — (BRONX, NY) — Steven M. Safyer, M.D., president and chief executive officer of Montefiore Medical Center, the University Hospital and Academic Medical Center for Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, will deliver this year's commencement address to Einstein's class of 2010. The ceremony will take place Thursday, June 3 at 2:30 p.m. at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall.

Steven M. Safyer, M.D."Steve Safyer, with his words at commencement and with his stellar record of achievements in healthcare, will inspire our graduates," said Allen M. Spiegel, M.D., the Marilyn and Stanley M. Katz Dean. "As an Einstein alumnus, he exemplifies the qualities we seek to inculcate in our graduates."

An accomplished physician-leader and highly respected healthcare executive, Dr. Safyer has spent 28 years at Montefiore, previously serving as senior vice president and chief medical officer. He has built leading specialty care programs and an extensive primary care network, developed innovative business and clinical strategies to manage care and assume risk, championed the adoption of cutting-edge clinical information systems, and created nationally recognized quality and safety programs. In 2010, Modern Healthcare named Dr. Safyer among the top 50 most powerful physician executives in the United States.

An Einstein alumnus, Dr. Safyer received his M.D. degree in 1982 and his B.S. degree from Cornell University. He completed his internship and residency in social medicine at Montefiore. Board certified in internal medicine, he is a professor of medicine and of epidemiology & population health at Einstein. He is also a fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine and founding member of The Health Management Academy.

"Steve Safyer, with his words at commencement and with his stellar record of achievements in healthcare, will inspire our graduates. As an Einstein alumnus, he exemplifies the qualities we seek to inculcate in our graduates."

-- Dean Allen M. Spiegel, M.D.Dr. Safyer's leadership in healthcare extends beyond Montefiore. He has been a member of numerous panels and committees for regional and national organizations, including the Hospital Association of New York State, the Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA) and the Association of American Medical Colleges. He is secretary of GNYHA and a board member of the League of Voluntary Hospitals and Homes of New York. He was named chair of the Bronx Regional Health Information Organization, an independent organization for health information sharing. A frequent lecturer on health information technology, population-based medicine and public health issues, Dr. Safyer has written and co-authored numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals, on subjects ranging from electronic medical records and managing the health of a population, to tuberculosis in prison populations.

"I am privileged to be part of this momentous occasion," said Dr. Safyer. "The graduates enter their fields of medicine, science, psychology and public health at an exciting time. Their passion and hard work has led them to this moment and they should feel extraordinarily proud."

Candidates will be led to the stage by Grand Marshal Stephen H. Lazar, Ed.D., assistant dean of students. Allen M. Spiegel, M.D., the Marilyn and Stanley M. Katz Dean, will join Yeshiva University president, Richard M. Joel, in presenting the diplomas. This year, Einstein will confer 180 M.D. degrees, 32 Ph.D. degrees and 14 M.S. degrees. Eighteen graduates will receive both an M.D. and Ph.D. degree.

The graduation ceremony will also honor the teaching excellence of six Einstein faculty members:

• Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Teaching: Melvin N. Zelefsky, M.D., chair of radiology at Jacobi Medical Center, professor of radiology at Einstein
• Harry Eagle Award for Outstanding Basic Science Teaching: Michael S. Risley, Ph.D., associate professor of anatomy and structural biology
• Harry H. Gordon Award for Outstanding Clinical Teaching: Miriam B. Schechter, M.D., assistant clinical professor of pediatrics
• Samuel M. Rosen Award for Outstanding Teaching in the Preclinical Curriculum: Herb M. Lachman, M.D., associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and of medicine
• Samuel M. Rosen Award for Outstanding Teaching in the Clinical Curriculum: Sean P. Pickering, M.D., assistant professor of medicine
• LaDonne H. Schulman Award for Excellence in Teaching: Erik L. Snapp, Ph.D., assistant professor of anatomy and structural biology

Nine individuals will be honored with awards from Einstein's Alumni Association:

• Dominick P. Purpura Distinguished Alumnus Award: Herbert Tanowitz, M.D., class of 1967, professor of pathology and of medicine
• Distinguished Ph.D. Alumnus Award: Lucille (Lucy) Shapiro, Ph.D., class of 1966, director of the Beckman Center for Molecular and Genetic Medicine and the Ludwig Professor of Cancer Research, Stanford University
• Honorary Alumnus Award: Howard M. Steinman, Ph.D., assistant dean for biomedical science education
• Alumni Lifetime Achievement Awards: Lynne Meryl Mofenson, M.D., class of 1977, chief of the Pediatric, Adolescent and Maternal AIDS Branch, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; and Sten H. Vermund, M.D., class of 1977, director of the Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health, Vanderbilt School of Medicine
• Alumni Lifetime Service Awards: Robert Bernstein, M.D., class of 1960, professor emeritus of radiology; Mervyn Goldstein, M.D., class of 1960, associate clinical professor of medicine; and Henry Pritzker, M.D., class of 1960, retired associate professor of radiology and of pediatrics
• Lifetime Service Award for Non-Alumna: Noreen Kerrigan, assistant dean for admissions