Dear Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³» Community,
I am thrilled to share more exciting news regarding the governance and future of Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³». Healthcare visionary and social impact leader Michael Dowling, CEO Emeritus of Northwell Health, has officially joined our Board of Trustees.
Michael’s remarkable career spans global leadership roles in healthcare, public policy and crisis management. During his more than 24 years as president and CEO, he built Northwell Health into New York’s largest private employer and the Northeast’s largest healthcare provider, renowned for its clinical, academic and research excellence. He knows firsthand what the modern workforce demands, and his guidance will be invaluable as Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³» continues to educate and graduate the next generation of frontline healthcare workers, administrators, and mental health professionals.
My relationship with Michael dates back many years before his time at Northwell, when he served in the New York state government for 12 years. He played a critical role in ensuring New Yorkers received essential services and support as state director of Health, Education and Human Services and deputy secretary to New York Governor Mario Cuomo, and later as commissioner of the New York State Department of Social Services.
As seen in his transformative work, Michael shares Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»â€™s deep commitment to the public good, higher education and community impact. Holding a Master of Social Work (MSW) from Fordham University, he began his career as a professor at Fordham and served as director of its Tarrytown campus. He later became a professor of social policy and assistant dean at the Graduate School of Social Services, and served on Fordham’s board of trustees for eight years. He has consistently taken a bold stand on important societal issues, including gun violence prevention, pandemic resilience, youth mental health and caring for an aging population.
His compassion and dedication to helping others throughout his career are a true reflection of Michael’s character. From growing up poor as a child in Ireland working on a farm to help support his family, to being an immigrant worker on the docks in Manhattan while in college, Michael embodies the American dream and has a special understanding of the human experience.
Michael joins an already formidable and highly experienced Board of Trustees, including fellow healthcare and business trailblazer Chair Leonard C. Achan ’99 (CEO of LiveOnNY). Together, with the rest of our trustees demonstrating expertise across law, business, real estate, marketing, finance, infrastructure and higher education, our board represents a diverse, experienced coalition of leaders dedicated to guiding Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³» into its next chapter.
Please join me in extending a warm welcome to Michael Dowling as he joins our university community.
Warm regards,
Michael Balboni ’81, JD
President