On June 3, 2010, Einstein’s commencement speaker Dr. Steven Safyer stepped to the podium at center stage of Avery Fisher Hall and looked out over the sea of graduates who would soon cross the same stage to collect their diplomas and be hooded as a Ph.D., an M.D., or both. These graduates were joined by a group of physicians who would receive a master’s degree in clinical research from Einstein, and by members of Einstein’s alumni celebrating milestone anniversaries of their own commencements — including the class of 1960, which was marking its 50th.

Dean Allen M. Spiegel presents Dr. Safyer with a commemorative token in thanks for his serving as commencement speaker As with the graduates and alumni on hand, the event was a momentous occasion for Dr. Safyer, who is a member of Einstein’s class of 1982 as well as president and chief executive officer of Montefiore Medical Center, The University Hospital and Academic Center for Einstein. He said, “I speak to many audiences and enjoy it, but for me, this is special.  It means so much to me. Einstein, my alma mater.” He also acknowledged the presence of his wife, Dr. Paula Marcus, “with me as she was when we received our Einstein diplomas in 1982. We met on the first day of school in the Max and Sadie lounge. We have been best friends and life companions ever since.”

Dr. Safyer’s role as commencement speaker also highlights and reinforces the renewed synergy forged between Einstein and Montefiore when, earlier this year, he and Dr. Allen M. Spiegel, the Marilyn and Stanley M. Katz Dean, signed an agreement to continue their institutions’ existing partnership, begun in 1963, and to strengthen their ties in clinical care, medical research and teaching by expanding their well-established and highly successful relationship.

At the time the agreement was announced, Dr. Safyer noted, “The agreement is forward looking and fortifies each of our missions and core programs. It enhances our ability to recruit the best and brightest faculty and clinical staff in the nation; to spearhead new clinical trials in areas such as heart disease, cancer, pediatrics, transplant, and neurosciences; to create a model teaching environment for the 21st century; and to advance the health of the communities we serve.”

While the formal relationship between Einstein and Montefiore began in 1963, Montefiore’s connection to Einstein actually pre-dates the establishment of the medical school. As Dr. Safyer told the assembled graduates and their guests, “In December 1950, Yeshiva University received permission to open a medical school in the Bronx.  Dr. Harry Zimmerman, chairman of pathology at Montefiore went to Princeton to visit his friend Albert Einstein to ask his blessing for the school to be named in his honor.”

Dr. Safyer addresses the Class of 2010 Although Dr. Einstein at first questioned, “I am not a medical scientist, why use my name?” he eventually consented. But he stipulated that the medical school hire accomplished McCarthy-era faculty who were either black-listed or rejected from professional societies.

“Albert Einstein leveraged his prominence to make a difference,” noted Dr. Safyer. “You are receiving your degrees from a unique institution with a strong and proud tradition of social activism and a commitment to improve the lives of many.”

Like many current Einstein students, Dr. Safyer did not take a traditional path to medical school. Following graduation from Cornell University, he headed first to Chicago and then to San Francisco, where he served as a community organizer. His activism had been ingrained from an early age, and was first practiced during elementary school, when he took the controversial stand of supporting integration amid turmoil that followed the court-ordered desegregation of his school. This activism later included opposition to the Vietnam War during his college years and currently includes his speaking out on behalf of healthcare reform.

In the course of organizing communities, Dr. Safyer discovered the importance of healthcare to the well being of the community. “This inspired me to pursue a career in medicine,” he said.

He continued, “Medicine then, as now, seized my curiosity and captured my intellect. But even more, I suspected it would give me a position from which I could advocate for positive social change.”

In exchange for tuition and board — at a time when tuition doubled from $8,000 to $16,000 — Dr. Safyer enrolled in the National Health Service Corps and committed to practicing medicine in an underserved area for three years.

He fulfilled his obligation at Montefiore’s Rikers Island Health Service, at New York City's vast jail complex, recalling, “Most people I met at Rikers were sentenced to eight years, but spent only three, by plea bargaining.  I did the opposite: I was committed for three years and stayed eight — voluntarily!”

It was at this time he took a path not initially part of his planned course. “Though I had planned on an infectious diseases fellowship and a traditional academic career, I stayed at Rikers because the health needs were staggering and I felt the opportunity to make a difference,” he said.

Those staggering health needs included an escalating AIDS epidemic at a time when few treatment options were known and nearly one-fourth of the Rikers population was HIV positive. “On any given day, there were 5,000 patients with HIV,” he noted.

And that epidemic was soon joined by another:  drug-resistant tuberculosis. This presented a significant threat to the public’s health since, each year, 100,000 men and women returned to their home communities, taking the spread of disease beyond the jail.

In spite of a public health system decimated by serious fiscal problems, Dr. Safyer and his colleagues created a comprehensive treatment program to address the social complexities of the patients’ lives and fought for the establishment of a much-needed, state-of-the-art tuberculosis hospital at Rikers.  “In the end, what was good for our patients was good for the whole of New York City,” he said.

He continued, “I share this story with you to illustrate that even when you think you know your path, other opportunities will find you.”

Winding up to his conclusion, Dr. Safyer told the graduates, “I have always been inspired by champions of social justice and been guided by the importance of activism and human rights… I believe that healthcare is a right, not a privilege. As a country, we have yet to recognize that.  The vibrancy of our democracy and the strength of our social fabric are undermined by a fragmented health care system that leaves so many individuals and families so poorly served.”

He continued, “Efforts to overhaul healthcare began over 100 years ago.  It took 50 years to establish Medicare and Medicaid, and it took another 50 years to pass this year’s legislation, which significantly expands health insurance to the uninsured. The current legislation will evolve over time…You, our graduates, now have the opportunity to help us build on the current momentum and shape a future that will benefit generations to come…We will work together towards reforming how care is delivered and how it is paid for. 

He then emphasized, “I can assure you Montefiore and Einstein will be in the lead. And as scientists and physicians, your voices, your discoveries, your contributions will help us get it right.”

In enumerating a number of the challenges that lie ahead, including the need to address the twin epidemics of obesity and diabetes, Dr. Safyer noted, “You will need to embrace these challenges and develop new ways of thinking, new prevention strategies, and new treatments — whether you work in a research lab in New York City or as a clinician in rural Maine…Challenges will define your success.” 

In closing, Dr. Safyer informed the graduates, “After today, you will assume a new and unique platform.  People will seek your opinions. Do not hesitate to give voice to your ideas and ideals. Be as good as you can be in what you do, but don’t stop there. Use your platform to speak to what is right.”  

And then he reminded them, “Plan your course and stay open to opportunities which may alter its direction but help make the world a better place… You are all agents of change. Go out and make a difference!”

To listen to Dr. Safyer’s entire commencement speech, please visit Multimedia/Safyer Einstein 2010 Commencement Speech.