A Letter from President Stuart Rabinowitz Paul G. Kirk, Jr. (left) and Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr. (right), co-chairmen of the Commission on Presidential Debates, joined Hofstra President Stuart Rabinowitz in welcoming guests to the presidential debate.
In the few years since we began to publish the annual President’s Report, it has become commonplace for us to state that the prior year was an extraordinary time for Hofstra University. In the annals of Hofstra’s almost 75-year history, however, the year 2008 was – by any measure – an extraordinary year for our University.
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n the past year, our dream of creating one of the most innovative new schools of medicine in the country became a reality. With the hiring of the school’s founding dean, Dr. Larry Smith, and our unique partnership with North Shore-LIJ Health System, the nation’s third largest system, we began to map out a curriculum that meshes classroom and clinical experiences in new ways, combining the learning of the science of medicine and clinical experiences, bringing together students, patients and members of the health care team from day one. We anticipate admitting the medical school’s first class in 2011, subject to obtaining preliminary accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education and necessary New York state approvals. The School of Medicine’s vision of a “learning community” emphasizes case-based, team-based inquiry and scholarship, questioning, and reflection. Its vision includes the cultivation of personal and social responsibility, as well as a commitment to lifelong learning, and promotes student-centered learning based on a patient-centered curriculum.
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In spring 2008 the Hofstra University School of Medicine in partnership with North Shore-LIJ Health System received a $25 million grant from the New York State Senate, which provides the school with funding toward the more than $125 million necessary to build the state-of-the-art facilities the school requires. New academic centers, such as the Peter S. Kalikow Center for the Study of the American Presidency, The National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra UniversitySM, the Center for Condensed Matter Research, the Center for Technological Literacy, and the Center for Civic Engagement, were created or expanded. Faculty authored groundbreaking studies on autism and education, and analyzed media and labor trends in national surveys. The highlight of our year, however, was on October 15, 2008, when Hofstra hosted the third and final presidential debate between now-President Barack Obama and Senator John McCain. Thousands of members of the international and national media, national politicians and leaders descended on Hofstra’s campus to witness history being made, and our students and faculty had front-row seats as the debate – now known popularly as the introduction of “Joe the Plumber” – played out. On behalf of the Hofstra community, I had the privilege of ringing the NASDAQ opening bell on October 14, greeting the candidates, and meeting the congressional and political leaders who came to campus for the debate.