SYRACUSE — SUNY Upstate Medical University plans to host a presidential symposium series entitled “Connected to the Future.”

The series of events over the next 18 to 24 months will demonstrate how Upstate Medical is “forward thinking about the trends and needs of the 21st century university.” That’s according to Dr. Danielle Laraque-Arena, who announced the symposium series during remarks that were part of her inauguration as Upstate Medical University’s 7th president.

Upstate Medical held the event April 15 at the Nicholas J. Pirro Convention Center at Oncenter.

Those participating in the symposium series, said Laraque-Arena, will represent a “range of disciplines,” including the sciences, education, clinical practice, law, community, industry, and information systems to discuss “our most pressing problems requiring novel and bold solutions.”

“The focus will be on social, scientific, and systems goals that align our mission, vision, and values in support of transformative health-care delivery, transformative education, and transformative research … actively engaging the community and supporting the economic development of our region,” Laraque-Arena continued.

The upcoming seminars will be “action oriented,” designed to promote an “exchange of ideas and to develop concrete steps to achieving results.”

The themes of the seminars will include genes and precision medicine, building off the $575,000 grant that SUNY awarded Upstate Medical University to launch the SUNY Institute for Precision Cancer Research, Education and Care.

Upstate Medical in October will host Dr. Mary-Claire King, professor of genome sciences and medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine.

Laraque-Arena described King as a “noted geneticist and human-rights activist.”

Other themes will include society and health, and gender inequity in academic medicine.

Laraque-Arena, who began her job as president in January, also said she’s been working with colleagues in a “process of strategic planning.”

Some of the goals developed during those planning sessions include the elimination of health disparities; attracting, training, and retaining the best talented clinicians, scientists, and educators; increasing the school’s responsiveness as a “progressive” health system; and providing “patient and family-centered quality care,” Laraque-Arena said.

Inaugurationz
SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher formally inaugurated Laraque-Arena during the April 15 ceremony.

“Yes, a glorious day this is for me … I’m deeply honored to be installed as the 7th president of the State University of New York Upstate Medical University,” Laraque-Arena said to open her remarks.

SUNY trustee chair Carl McCall, several members of the SUNY board of trustees, and presidents from seven colleges and universities also attended.

Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner, Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney, and Robert Simpson, president and CEO of CenterState CEO, also extended greetings to Upstate’s new leader.

The inauguration featured an academic procession and greetings from representatives from the community as well as professional societies.

The event also included a dance performance by the Haudenosaunee singers and dancers of the Onondaga Nation.

Dr. Marie McCormick provided remarks during the ceremony. McCormick is the Sumner Esther Felder professor of maternal and child health in the department of social and behavioral sciences at the Harvard Y.H. Chan School of Public Health. She’s also a professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.

Thomas Taylor, chair of the Upstate Medical University Council, described McCormick as Dr. Laraque-Arena’s “mentor and friend.”

In her remarks, McCormick admitted to being a “little confused” about what mentoring means. She thinks some people see mentors as those who can provide “competent advising” but in her mind, mentoring is “a little different.”

“To me the underpinning of the relationship is a shared passion for science, for teaching, for clinical care. It’s this shared goal that makes the relationship so special and so productive,” she said.

“In Danielle, I think that the university has gained a great mentor. She shares your commitment to excellence in professional education. She shares your striving for excellent science and important science and science that can be translated into well being. And most importantly, she shares the common goal of improving health,” said McCormick. 

Laraque-Arena began her service as president of Upstate Medical on Jan. 14.

She previously served as chair of the department of pediatrics at Maimonides Medical Center and vice president of Maimonides Infants and Children’s Hospital of Brooklyn. As president, Laraque-Arena oversees a public, academic medical center and health system. It includes a 735-bed hospital on two campuses with “numerous” outpatient sites, according to a school fact sheet.

Upstate Medical is the region’s largest employer.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com