Union’s groundbreaking doctors
A LEADING HEART SURGEON
Dr. Kathy E. Magliato ’85 is one of the few female cardiothoracic surgeons in the world. She is a surgeon at St. John’s Medical Center in Santa Monica, Calif., where she is also the director of Women’s Cardiac Surgical Services. But Magliato is also a renaissance woman. She is seeking a patent on a new diagnostic tool for heart disease, creating a business plan for a multidisciplinary women’s health center and writing a book about heart disease in women.
What Union meant to me: I grew up on an apple orchard and farm in upstate New York. That was my world. My dad (Nicholas Magliato, Sr. ’58) brought me to the campus and said, ‘This is college, this is what you can achieve.’ Union opened up my world and anything seemed possible. I wanted to be a doctor and chose a rigorous pre-med curriculum and rounded out my education with liberal arts studies. I spent a term abroad in Florence, Italy, where I lived with a family who spoke no English. I learned Italian and assimilated with another culture. Most importantly, I discovered how vast the world really is. Now, I connect with patients on levels other than being their doctor. It makes me human. It makes me more than just someone who spent the last 15 years submersed in facts.
Union made me a whole person. Union produces well-rounded individuals who can attain their goals but also change career paths and take risks. When I went on to get my MBA at UCLA last year, I really felt like I could tackle that project because of my Union training. I did not do well during my first two trimesters. I was blindsided by the amount of work but, in the end, Union taught me excellent study habits, which helped me with medical school and my MBA.
A FORMER DEAN AND HEALTH LEADER
Dr. Alfred Sommer ’63 is professor of epidemiology and international health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, where he served as dean from 1990 to 2005. His research involves the magnitude, consequences and control of vitamin A deficiency, which can cause childhood illness and death by diminishing the body’s resistance to measles and diarrhea. Dr. Sommer called the magazine as he was preparing for a flight to Istanbul, Turkey, where he was set to serve as program chair of the Micronutrient Forum. The forum’s goal is to reduce micronutrient deficiencies around the world.
What Union meant to me: One of the reasons I went to Union in the first place was the wonderful program for premeds. Union was a fantastically conducive place to study and learn and get intellectually excited. The faculty took interest in people who were interested. Union made it possible for me to go off to Harvard Medical School, where I did reasonable well. Because of my Union training, I was perhaps more thoughtful than the average medical student. I wondered about why people got sick in the first place and how we could address the bigger issues. That led me in a direction of thinking globally and wanting to work overseas; to a life in medicine that addresses large issues that effect populations around the world including those in the poorest countries. It led me to question and think about those issues by applying research and analytical skills. I think it was because I minored in history and was stimulated by the history professors that I decided to think about global issues. There was constant talking, thinking and questioning between the history and biology classes.
FORMER TRUSTEE AND LEADING SURGEON
Dr. Michael Epstein ‘59 is a professor of orthopedic surgery, chief of the Hand and Upper Extremity Section and director of the Orthopedic Hand Fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. A board-certified orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Epstein’s clinical focus includes acute and reconstructive hand surgery.
What Union meant to me: I came from the small city of Kingston, N.Y. and my horizons were very limited. At Union—even though it was then an all-male institution—I was exposed to diversity. I describe diversity by race, creed and culture. I was impressed by how much more socially mature my friends from New York City were. I also felt the favorable faculty-student ratio allowed me to have close contact with professors who became role models. It also provided a rigor of study and diversity of courses. I realized later on how truly important a liberal arts education is. It was this realization that led me to endow scholarships in the social sciences as well as the terms abroad program. The College provides the structure for a young man or woman to really grow and find themselves and become educated in areas of life that are so important to practicing medicine.
A NOBEL PRIZE WINNER
Dr. Baruch Blumberg ’46 was awarded the Nobel Prize inmedicine in 1976 for his pioneering work in studying the origin and dissemination of Hepatitis A and B. He was amember of the U.S. Navy’s V-12 programand spent two years at Union beginning in 1943 before leaving to serve as a deck officer on landing ships duringWorldWar II. Blumberg recalled his time at Union as academically intense. But Union was also a gateway to another lifelong passion.
What Union meant to me: I was in the physics program, which was and still is pretty intense. A rigorous series of courses in physics was demanding and I also studied a lot of chemistry. We had long labs everyday. There were certainly some very bright students. I think that my educational experience at Union was very good though much of what is now college life is different. The part I enjoyed most was that I started doing a lot of hiking, camping, canoeing and mountain climbing. It was a big introduction to the outdoors. I was up in the Adirondacks whenever I could get there. I learned a great deal from it.
NATIONAL RADIO SHOWHOST
Dr. Nina Feltman Sax ’77 is a radio host, gastroenterologist and mother of two boys. Sax is co-host on the nationally syndicated public radio program, The Health Show, which is produced near Albany, N.Y. by Northeast Public Radio. The program covers all aspects of health ranging from prevention to treatment. When not reading up for the show, Sax practices at Albany gastroenterology consultants and raises her 16- and 11-year-old boys. Sax is married to ophthalmologist Robert Sax ’75.
What Union meant to me: I did a lot of performing in theCollege choral group led by Hugh Allen Wilson. And I took voice and piano lessons. That training really helps you speak well and it gives you confidence to speak on the radio. The academic program at Union wasn’t just memorizing facts and spitting them out. The classes were small. The professors were interested in students. It taught me to think and not just to memorize. When I was in medical school, there was maybe a dozen people out of 120 in my class who were women. When I was resident, there were four women in the whole program. Do you want to know who the real pioneers are? They are women and mothers of my generation who became doctors. We are all pioneers because it’s not easy, it’s a balancing act.
LEADING A TOP BOSTON HOSPITAL
Dr. Gregg Meyer ’84 is a senior vice president and medical director of the
physician’s organization at Massachusetts General Hospital. Meyer is one of three Union graduates in leadership roles for the Massachusetts General Physicians Organization. Meyer completed the then six-year program at Union and Albany Medical College and went on to be a Rhodes Scholar in public health policy at the University of Oxford in England from 1986 to 1988. The other Union graduates helping to lead Mass. General are Dr. Nancy Gagliano ’81 and Dr. Jeffrey Weilburg ’74. The hospital’s physician organization is one of the largest physician-led group practices in New England, consisting of approximately 2,500 employees, including 1,200 physicians. The main focus of the MGPO is to provide the leadership and infrastructure that supports physicians’ efforts in patient care, teaching and research.
What Union meant to me: Union helped me become a Rhodes Scholar, which was an absolutely life-changing event. Joe Board, an emeritus professor of political science and Rhodes Scholar, coached me through the application process. I had the opportunity at Union to do a term abroad dealing with socialized medicine in Europe. That opened my eyes to the idea of not just caring for patients but caring for populations. I saw the profound impact of politics and policy on the delivery of health care and the wonderful and dismal effects of policy.
CONNECTING HOSPITALS
Dr. Gagliano is vice president of practice improvement for the physicians organization and is executive director of Project Compass, a seven-year multimillion dollar effort to build a patient administration system that connects major hospitals in and around Boston.
What Union meant to me: Student activities had a dramatic impact on the foundation for my career in administrative leadership. For me, the Union culture was all about student activities. I was a resident advisor, member of a student- faculty council and chair of an orientation committee to name just a few. Sometimes I was an active member and other times I took on leadership roles. I developed a passion for leadership. As the co-chair of the Orientation Committee, I did a year of planning with a group of about eight students and we came to campus two weeks before classes. That was really the first time I was responsible for large-scale logistics, operations and communications. It was great fun and we had something tangible at the end to show for our efforts.
TREATING SLEEP DISORDERS
Dr. Weilburg is a psychiatrist and associate medical director of the physician’s organization. He specializes in neuropsychiatry, epilepsy and sleep disorders and has pioneered efforts to treat chronic daytime sleepiness.
What Union meant to me: I loved Union. I still dream—pleasantly—about it. It was the place where I learned to think critically, to work hard, and it was loads of fun. Physiological psychology, taught by Howard Berthold, lead me to neuropsychiatry; philosophy, taught by “Wild” Bill Enteman; physics with C.D. Swartz; and biology with Henry Butzel laid a solid foundation for my training in medicine, and for the way I handle issues at work today. And the people, the other kids, were the main source of growth and joy. Nancy, Gregg and I are a proud island of Garnet in a sea of Crimson.
A LEADING LIGHT IN DRUG RESEARCH
In 1996, Dr. Jonathan R. Spicehandler ’70 described himself as a renaissance man in a Union Collegemagazine story. “I enjoyed being a practicing physician, but I’m the kind of person who isn’t just going to do one thing for the rest of my life,” he explained. Spicehandler helped develop medication to treat hepatitis C which can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer. Spicehandler died on July 31, 2006 at age 57. His wife, Debra Spicehandler, recently established a Union scholarship in her husband’s name.
A friend and son talk about Union: Classmate Dennis Meyers ’70 recalled Spicehandler talking about inspirational professors like Henry Butzel, who taught biology. “Jonathan always wanted to be doctor. But the professors inspired him. He was really into his studying.” Son Daniel Best-Spicehandler ’05 said, “My dad always talked about how Union wasdifficult; about the hours he would spend studying and making study cards and helping other people study and how he enjoyed it.”
EDITOR OF A LEADING MEDICAL JOURNAL
In the late 1960s the Concordiensis was tracking two controversial stories: the Vietnam War and the College’s plans to admit women. Dr. Peter Drotman ’69, a psychology major who wanted to be a doctor, was then the editor of the student newspaper. Today he is editor of Emerging Infectious Diseases, a monthly journal published by the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta.
What Union meant to me: The grind and competition of being with the other pre-med students was, to me, horrible. So I took pre-med requirements on my own and majored in psychology. At night I started working on the business end of the newspaper. It was not my intent to be editor-in-chief but when I became a senior I decided to run for the elected post. The election was a tie and I served,
along with others, as editor. Today I am a supervisor of writers and copy editors at an international medical journal. At the Concordiensis, our editorial position was that we should become a coeducational college, but it was not a slam dunk. We published special issues whenever the Board of Trustees met.
A TOP SURGEON
Dr. Raphael Davis ’77 is the chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery at Stony Brook University Medical Center in Long Island. He specializes in lower skull and spine surgery and also devotes about 20 percent of his time to administrative work and research. Davis grew up in a middle-class family and, from the start, saw Union as a springboard to success.
What Union meant to me: I was very serious about my education because it was my ticket to success. I grew up in a middle-class environment in Valley Stream, N.Y. The Union graduates I know who are leaders in medicine have similar backgrounds. They were driven by the educational process because it was their only way to succeed. Union gave me the opportunity to explore multiple areas of biology. Although I was a serious young man, I had no idea what I wanted to study when I arrived at Union. I received excellent guidance from former Biology Department Chair Peter Tobiessen. He strongly directed me toward medicine, which changed my life. His advice still holds true today, “Once you get into medicine, there are so many different ways to go. You will find something that appeals to your background in biology.” Union gives students a broad educational exposure and an excellent foundation to pursue their ideas and goals in the future.
A MEDICAL SCHOOL DEAN
Dr. Vincent P. Verdile ’77 was named dean of Albany Medical College in 2001 after serving as chief of emergency services at Albany Medical Center Hospitalfor five years. In the early 1990s, Dr. Anthony Tartaglia ’54 served as dean of the same upstate New York medical college. Verdile said Union’s trimester system helped hone his time-management ability, a simple but critical skill for a medical student, doctor and administrator. Verdile earned his medical degree from Albany Medical College in 2001 after serving as chief of emergency services at Albany Medical Center Hospital for five years. In the early 1990s, Dr. Anthony Tartaglia ’54 served as dean of the same upstate New York medical college. Verdile said Union’s trimester system helped hone his time-management ability, a simple but critical skill for a medical student, doctor and administrator. Verdile earned his medical degree from Albany Medical College in 1984 and, before that, earned a bachelor’s degree in science and a master’s degree in physiology from Union College.
What Union meant to me: The difference between Union and many other schools is the way the trimester system is structured. If you are going to excel, you must be terrific at time management. It helps you focus and concentrate. The College also provides students with a community that is supportive and nourishing. The transition from college to medical school is similar to the transition of from high school to college. You have to take your study habits and time management up a notch. In going to medical school, I had a better toolkit to study, work hard and learn more material.
A COLONEL AND PROFESSOR
Dr. Estelle Cooke-Sampson ’74 was awarded the College’s Eliphalet Nott Medal in 1995 for achieving great distinction in her field. She serves as a colonel and state surgeon in the Washington, D.C. National Guard, which has about 1,600 members. She works as an assistant clinical professor of radiology at Howard University Hospital and as a radiologist at St. Mary’s Hospital in Leonardtown, Md. Cooke-Sampson also helps lead Mary’s Center for Maternal and Child Care, which serves low-income people in the D.C. area. She recently made a $1 million life insurance policy gift to the Cooke Family Scholarship. She is also a College Trustee. That’s an impressive resume for a young woman who arrived with Union’s first group of 100 female students in 1970 knowing that her speaking and writing skills needed improvement.
What Union meant to me: Union was instrumental in guiding me to medical school. While at Union, I realized that I was extremely weak with writing and speaking skills. But the Union community gave me a window to a new world. I began to enjoy learning, though it was very difficult and often embarrassing. The faculty and staff were very supportive. In spite of my shortcomings, I took on leadership positions such as a resident advisor, which helped my confidence. Many students were helpful as well. Union was very nurturing. I will never forget in my sophomore year at Union, when all students were advised to go to the Psychology Department for one-on-one career counseling. After taking a test, the counselor gave me what I presumed were the findings of the evaluation. She told me that I could be a physician, a top manager, vice president or business owner, a military officer, etc. I wasn’t certain that she was really talking about me. I thought maybe I was part of a psychological study. I was so naive that I could not picture myself in those professions; the choices seemed so remote. Now, 35 years later, I accomplished all that she had forecasted for me and more
A PIONEER IN TREATING HEART FAILURE
Dr. Jay Cohn ’52 learned to be an iconoclast while working as editor of the Concordiensis. As senior class president, he helped advocate for the College’s first outdoor graduation. Today, Cohn is internationally known for his leadership in carrying out clinical trials to examine new treatments for heart failure. In 1980, he organized and chaired the first long-term trial in heart failure, the Veterans Affairs Cooperative Study Program on vasodilator therapy. Recently, he’s been focused on early identification of heart disease, including innovative efforts like screening patients to diagnose stiffening of the small arteries. He holds several patents for heart failure diagnostic and tools. He is also the director of the Rasmussen Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention at the University of Minnesota’s Department of Medicine.
What Union meant to me: Innovation is painful. It requires perseverance and confidence that you have the right answer. Innovation does not happen unless you work hard and fight the establishment; because the establishment gets comfortable and is not often looking for different solutions.
My Union education fostered a creative attitude that allowed students to pursue their own interests. It made us challenge authority and challenge conventional wisdom. That probably characterized my career, that I always challenged conventional wisdom. I think a small campus with a close interaction with faculty and being given the opportunity to be creative, was vitally important. I worked as editor of the Concordiensis. That period of time imbued me with the attitude of challenging conventional wisdom. The role of the Concordiensis at that time was to find out what was wrong and try to help correct it. I was also president of my senior class too and we were the first class to campaign for graduation outdoors. There was great consternation about having a graduation interrupted by rain, but I analyzed the weather experience over the prior 20 years and insisted that we take a chance. It was one of my first innovative successes.
PREPARING FOR THE NEXT STEP
Union College’s Health Professions Program helps students pursue their interests in health care. Advising students interested in becoming doctors, dentists, psychologists and veterinarians, to name a few, can be challenging, according to program leader Carol Weisse and Assistant Director Rhona Beaton. That’s the point where alumni can help.
Since 1997 the College has offered a two-day April excursion by bus to Boston, New York City or Philadelphia in which students visit alumni and graduate schools. The trip also features a Friday night dinner that buzzes with conversation between alumni and students, Weisse said. The trip for about 25 students is planned by the Health Professions Program and Pre-Health Society and paid for, in part, by the Obenzinger Memorial endowment, a Union Intellectual Enrichment Grant and alumni donations.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity for students to network and hear first hand of the many varied careers out there,” Weisse said. “The program allows students to visit health professions’ schools and learn about all types of medicine. During school visits, they get an opportunity to talk with admissions deans as well as students.”
The Health Professions Program also helps students enhance their graduate school applications with experiences such as clinical internships, international study and extracurricular activities. The program’s goal is to foster personal growth and develop interpersonal skills.
Union’s trimester system allows pre-health students to complete a term abroad, which, according to Weisse, is often not possible within the strict course requirements of a semester system. The College’s International Programs Office coordinates study abroad opportunities.
“I think the pioneering spirit of many Union graduates was fed by experiences studying abroad,” Weisse said.
Another well-known pre-med program at Union is the Leadership in Medicine Program, which guarantees admittance to Albany Medical College for about 20 incoming freshman. That highly competitive program, which has existed in some form for 25 years, allows students to achieve a bachelor’s degree in biology or chemistry and complete a second major in the humanities. That’s in addition to a term abroad and master’s degree in health systems administration.
“Union College provides a strong foundation in research, international travel and liberal arts education for all students. The educational environment also encourages students to be creative and to lead,” Weisse said.