The greatest need is for student financial aid. The cost of medical education today is very high. So, the college needs a great deal more money for scholarship and loan funds for students, particularly with a larger class of 100 students in prospect. There is always need for fluid funds, free from the restrictions of slow and cumbersome state procedures. Effective research is impossible without some of this kind of support.
Medical education is a partnership of public and private enterprise.
At Syracuse, the private funds provide the grease that will make the publicly supported school run smoothly and efficiently. The Upstate Medical University is the only name change at the medical center. The name of the Syracuse Medical Alumni Association also remains the same. The latest name change of our institution has no effect on who we are as a group of alumni, although I imagine many alumni will enjoy the return to something closer to their own memory. Regardless of the name of the institution when you graduated, we remain united as alumni of the Syracuse Medical Alumni Association.