NYS Health Commissioner Zucker to deliver commencement address at Upstate Medical’s graduation

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The New York State Health Commissioner will address the Upstate Medical University Class of 2019 during commencement on May 5.

Dr. Howard Zucker will deliver the commencement address at the 10 a.m. ceremony, which the medical school will hold at Onondaga Community College’s SRC Arena and Events Center, Upstate Medical announced Thursday.

Besides Zucker’s remarks, Dr. Mantosh Dewan, interim president of Upstate Medical University, will also speak to the graduating class.

The medical school will award 478 degrees in the Colleges of Graduate Studies, Health Professions, Medicine and Nursing. Four students have earned both a Ph.D. and M.D. and one student has earned an M.D. and a master’s degree in public health as well.

As the state’s chief physician, Zucker leads initiatives to combat the opioid crisis; strengthen environmental health; end the AIDS epidemic; and address “major” public-health issues, including Ebola, Legionella, e-cigarettes and tobacco cessation, Upstate Medical said.

Zucker presides over the state’s Medicaid program and the Wadsworth Center, which is New York’s public-health lab. He also oversees the entire health-care workforce, including those employed at hospitals, long-term care facilities, and nursing homes.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com