Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine

History:
In 2006 the Association of American Medical Colleges, citing population increases, a doubling of the number of citizens over the age of 65 between 2000 and 2030, and an aging physician workforce, recommended that medical school enrollment be increased by 30% by 2015. Concurrently, the University and the Health System each had reached a rapid-growth stage of development at which collaborating to develop a nationally renowned medical school became a highly attractive and advantageous endeavor. Aligned in their institutional visions, Hofstra University and the North Shore-LIJ Health System began to explore the advantages of collaborating to create an innovative and outstanding school of medicine.

Development of the School of Medicine
In October 2007 the two institutions announced the intent to establish the Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine at Hofstra University. This unique partnership brought together two outstanding Long Island institutions, ensuring that the medical school would have excellent clinical training opportunities, research records and academic infrastructure from the outset. Hofstra, with its distinguished schools of law, business, liberal arts and sciences, communication, and education and human and health services, provided its accomplished faculty and an existing admissions and student services infrastructure, as well as a beautiful campus with room for a new medical education building and residence hall. North Shore-LIJ Health System, as one of the largest integrated health systems in the nation, provided a first class group of hospitals, health care facilities and research institutions, and some of the nation's most respected physicians and researchers.

On March 27, 2008, with the approval of their respective boards, Hofstra University and North Shore-LIJ Health System entered into a formal agreement to establish the Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine at Hofstra University, the first allopathic medical school in Nassau County and the first new medical school in the New York metropolitan area in more than 35 years. After extensive consideration with the assistance of prominent medical school search firms, Dr. Lawrence Smith, nationally recognized for his visionary leadership in medicine and medical education, was appointed as Founding Dean of the School of Medicine. Dr. Smith also serves, and will continue to serve, as Executive Vice President and Physician-in-Chief of the North Shore-LIJ Health System, thus ensuring a unified effort in creating and sustaining a successful partnership, as well as seamless integration of classroom and clinical experiences.

Founded in 1935 as a college affiliated with New York University (NYU), Hofstra separated from NYU in 1939 and was granted an absolute charter a year later. With the approval of the New York State Board of Regents, Hofstra became Long Island's first private university in 1963. In 1966, the Board of Regents authorized Hofstra to offer doctoral degree and, in 1973, Hofstra was granted a Phi Beta Kappa charter. Today, almost 13,000 students - with 300 undergraduate and graduate programs from which to choose - learn from more than 500 full-time faculty on a 240-acre campus. Hofstra faculty members are leading scholars in their disciplines. Students can choose from over 2,150 courses within 150 undergraduate and 160 graduate programs.

The University, since its inception and central to its mission and core values, has committed itself to excellence in teaching grounded in the liberal arts. At Hofstra, teaching is intertwined with research and scholarship. Indeed, the teaching and mentoring of students is informed and enhanced by the faculty's scholarship and publications. This commitment extends to the University's graduate programs. Today's Hofstra professors have many awards and accomplishments to their credit. Ninety percent of the full-time faculty holds the highest degrees in their field. From Pulitzer Prizes to Guggenheim Fellows, from National Endowment for the Humanities to National Science Foundation grant recipients, the faculty pursues excellence in their academic disciplines while maintaining a commitment to teaching and mentoring their students.

In addition to the new School of Medicine, Hofstra University comprises the following schools: the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Frank G. Zarb School of Business, School of Communication, School of Law, School of Education, Human and Health Services, Honors College, School for University Studies and New College. What started out as a commuter campus of approximately 15 acres in 1935 has become a University with 37 residence halls on 240 acres of grounds that constitute a registered arboretum.

Dean's Message:
On March 26, 2008, Hofstra University, after formalizing our partnership with North Shore-LIJ Health System, announced the appointment of Lawrence G. Smith, MD, as the founding dean of the Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine. As founding dean, Dr. Smith will be responsible for leading the strategic planning to develop the curriculum, facilities and programs of the new medical school, as well as facilitating the accreditation process and recruiting administrators and faculty.

In addition to serving as dean of the new medical school, Dr. Smith will continue in his role as Executive Vice President and Physician-in-Chief at the North Shore-LIJ Health System. Dr. Smith is the 15-hospital health system's senior physician, responsible for the overall professional management of clinical, education, research and operational issues related to all medical and clinical affairs throughout North Shore-LIJ. Dr. Smith had held this position since September 1, 2006.

Dr. Smith joined North Shore-LIJ in May 2005 as chief academic officer and senior vice president of academic affairs. In this capacity, Dr. Smith strengthened the health system's graduate medical education programs and expanded medical school affiliations, significantly enhancing North Shore-LIJ's ability to recruit medical students and residents. In addition, Dr. Smith was responsible for overseeing the 15-hospital health system's medical student education programs and academic faculty appointments. Dr. Smith was also accountable for establishing close relationships with doctors and hospitals throughout North Shore-LIJ that enhanced the health system's partnerships with staff and community-based physicians and improved physician recruitment efforts.

Before joining North Shore-LIJ, Dr. Smith was at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in Manhattan, where he served as dean (beginning in 2002) and chairman of medical education, founder and director of the school's Institute for Medical Education, professor of medicine and an attending physician. He joined the faculty of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in 1994 as vice chairman of the Department of Medicine and residency program director. Prior to his career at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Dr. Smith practiced general medicine at the State University of New York's Stony Brook University Hospital, where he became a full-time faculty member, director of education and program director of the hospital's residency program in internal medicine.

Once the training facility of New York Jets professional football team, our newly renovated Medical Education Center will serve as the initial home for the Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine at Hofstra University while the new school of medicine is being constructed.

This 48,000 square foot building offers a full service cafe, 16 flexible learning areas, a 108-seat lecture hall, a dedicated medical education library, and a gross anatomy lab all equipped with the latest state-of-the-art technological tools.

North Shore-LIJ Health System is a leading not-for-profit provider of quality medical care. The continuing medical education (CME) provided to members of its medical staffs, physicians in the region, and other physicians throughout the United States and the world is a fundamental asset to the maintenance of quality and patient safety.

Learners that utilize the NS-LIJ CME program include the following:

• Local audiences comprised of physicians from the System's affiliated hospitals
• Other physicians in the Long Island and Greater Metropolitan New York City region
• Physicians from the United States and other countries in the world.
• Other Health Care Professionals as part of a multidisciplinary team.

On November 30, 2007, The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) awarded North Shore-LIJ Health System "Accreditation with Commendation," the maximum award status that entitles North Shore-LIJ Health System to a six year term of exemplary accreditation as a provider of continuing medical education for physicians. To be considered Exemplary, a program must go well beyond simply meeting the basic requirements by showing innovation and creativity in addressing the components that make up the ACCME's Essential Areas and Standards. This ranks North Shore-LIJ in the top 8% of all providers of CME in the nation.

Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine Degree Programs :

Medicine

Video Presentation

First Dean of Hofstra University School of Medicine

Hofstra University President Stuart Rabinowitz and North Shore-LIJ Health System President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Dowling announced that Lawrence G. Smith, MD, North Shore-LIJ's chief medical officer, will serve as the first dean of the Hofstra University School of Medicine in partnership with North Shore-LIJ Health System.