Downstate Honors Celebrates Faculty, Students, and Staff
By Office of the President | May 24, 2023
More than 350 students, faculty, staff, and guests reconnected in person for the first time since the pandemic began in 2020.
We had the pleasure of recognizing staff for their years of service, acknowledging SUNY Chancellor’s Award recipients, and for the first time, the Resiliency Award.
Because we could not publicly recognize years of service recipients in the last three years due to COVID, it was important to acknowledge our gratitude by recognizing individuals in the Downstate Honors Program Booklet. Individuals were recognized for years of service ranging from 10 to more than 50 years.
Stanley Friedman, Ph.D., Distinguished Teaching Professor, Physiology and Pharmacology, has served at Downstate for 57 years. When Dr. Friedman joined Downstate in 1966, New York City experienced a 12-day transit strike shutting down the subway system and buses, halting millions of commuters; the U.S. population exceeded 195 million; the Star Trek series debuted, and the Beach Boys’ Good Vibrations was among the top songs of the day!
Other Downstate individuals serving more than 50 years included Ellen M. Ginzler, M.D., MPH, Chief of Rheumatology, Distinguished Teaching Professor of Medicine, and Vice Chair of the Department of Medicine for Research (ret.); Bobbie Holland, MPA, Administrator, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology; and Francisca Velcek, M.D., FACS, FAAP, Chief, Division of Pediatric Surgery and Professor of Surgery.
The Employee Recognition & Service Awards honored more than 1,700 employees who marked milestone anniversaries during 2020, 2021, and 2022. SUNY Chancellor Awards for Excellence were also presented in Classified Service, Faculty Service, Professional Service, and Teaching. Under the Distinguished Faculty Rank Awards, two Distinguished Professorship awards were presented—the highest honor for faculty and solely awarded by the SUNY Board of Trustees.
The Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence are System-level honors acknowledging system-wide recognition for consistently superior professionals and highlighting SUNY’s commitment to sustaining intellectual vibrancy, advancing the boundaries of knowledge, providing the highest quality of instruction, and serving the public good.
And this year, we also introduced the SUNY Downstate Resiliency Awards, recognizing Downstate faculty, staff, and students who demonstrated exceptional leadership, advocacy, innovation, and teamwork contributing to Downstate’s mission’s overall success and spirit, vision, values, and strategic goals. These awards focused on how individuals and teams worked together during the pandemic to make a difference during the most uncertain times. Awards were presented in the Advocate, Innovator, Leader, and Synergist categories.
See a copy of the Downstate Honors Program Booklet