Syracuse University College of Medicine Faculty
FREDERICK HYDE M.D. (1809 - 1887)
Frederick Hyde M.D. received his medical degree in 1836; he then established a modest practice out of Cortlandville, NY. He was often called to consult on cases and to perform surgeries around Tompkins and Cortland Counties. Dr. Hyde’s notoriety grew when he was party to one of the first mal-practice suits on record in New York State. As his reputation spread, he was offered the position of chair of Obstetrics and Diseases of Women from the Medical Department of Hobart College (the name adopted by Geneva College in 1851). He was appointed professor of surgery in 1852. Dr. Hyde, along with Dean John Towler M.D., approached Syracuse University to negotiate the purchase of the medical school in 1871. Dr. Hyde was then hired by the new Syracuse University College of Medicine as professor of Surgery and the rest of the faculty elected him the first dean of the new college, a position he held until his death in 1887.
WILLIAM TOMLINSON PLANT M.D. (1837 - 1899)
William Tomlinson Plant M.D. graduated from the Medical College of the University of Michigan in 1860. He was commissioned as an assistant naval surgeon by President Lincoln during the Civil War; after the war he moved to Syracuse where he worked at a private practice. When the Syracuse University College of Medicine was established in 1872, Dr. Plant was made professor of Medical Jurisprudence. He subsequently became professor of Clinical Medicine and professor of Pediatrics. He was chairman of the Department of Pediatrics until he retired. He wrote frequently, especially in the realm of diseases of children. In addition to his private practice, teaching, and administrative duties he also served as registrar for the College of Medicine for many years.
GAYLORD PARSONS CLARK M.D. (1857 - 1907)
Gaylord Parsons Clark M.D. was a member of the Syracuse University College of Medicine class of 1880. Upon graduating, he was immediately made an instructor of Anatomy and was quickly advanced to full professor in 1881. In 1892, he became the chairman of Physiology, a position he held until his death in 1907. His health was never robust and he could not meet the physical demands of a medical practice. Instead, he devoted himself to the study of medicine. He spent most of his summers at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA and undertook multiple trips to Europe to acquire medical apparatus not yet available in the United States. He did all of this on the very limited compensation that the College of Medicine could offer faculty of this era. During the declining years of Dean Henry Didama, Dr. Clark was appointed interim dean. When Dean Didama died in 1907 Dr. Clark became dean of the College of Medicine for a short time before his death.
STEVEN SMITH M.D. (1823-1922)
Steven Smith began his medical education at Geneva Medical College, and was a classmate and life-long supporter of Elizabeth Blackwell. He completed his doctor of medicine degree at the College of Physicians and Surgeons in the City of New York (Columbia University) in 1850. Dr. Smith was a distinguished surgeon at Bellevue Hospital and the founder and first president of the American Public Health Association. He was also the editor of the New York Journal of Medicine for 15 years. Dr. Smith donated approximately 1300 volumes to the Syracuse University College of Medicine library around 1896; many of these titles are still part of our Special Collections holdings. He retired to Skaneateles, NY where he likely made the acquaintance of local artist John D. Barrow.
JOHN L. HEFFRON M.D. (1851 - 1924)
John L. Heffron M.D. studied at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University and at Syracuse University College of Medicine, where he completed his degree in 1881. He became an instructor at the College of Medicine in 1882 and was one of the most renowned physicians in Syracuse. He was made professor of Histology in 1885, professor of Materia Medica and Therapeutics in 1887, and professor of Clinical Medicine in 1895. He served as dean of the College of Medicine from 1907-1922. Under his leadership, the school acquired the Hospital of the Good Shepherd where Dr. Heffron pioneered methods for hospitalization of patients with tuberculosis. Dr. Heffron succumbed to injuries sustained after being hit by an automobile and died at Hospital of the Good Shepherd in 1924.
HERMAN G. WEISKOTTEN M.D. (1884 - 1972)
Herman Gates Weiskotten M.D. graduated from the Syracuse University College of Medicine in 1909. Dr. Weiskotten began his career as a resident pathologist at the Hospital of the Good Shepherd in Syracuse and quickly became an instructor and eventually a professor at the College of Medicine. In 1922, he was made acting dean and officially became dean in 1925. He served in this capacity until 1951 while also serving as director of the Hospital of the Good Shepherd from 1925-1941. Dr. Weiskotten was a renowned physician in the city, serving as Onondaga County necrotomist from 1913-1925 and as commissioner of health for the city from 1926-1928. Dr. Weiskotten was also very active in furthering medical education. He authored numerous articles on the subject, served as the chairman of the Council on Medical Education and Hospitals of the American Medical Association, and was awarded the Abraham Flexner Award for distinguished service in medical education (1958). Dr. Weiskotten stepped down as dean of the College of Medicine in 1951 after the school was transferred to the State University of New York. The original academic building, formerly known as the Basic Sciences Building, was constructed during Dr. Weiskotten’s administration, and was renamed for him in 1972.
ARTHUR D. ECKER M.D. (1913 - 2006)
Arthur D. Ecker M.D., Ph.D. was educated at Dartmouth, Johns Hopkins and the Mayo clinic before joining the faculty of the Syracuse University College of Medicine in 1939. That same year he founded the Department of Neurosurgery at the Hospital of the Good Shepherd in Syracuse. Dr. Ecker was a pioneer in the fields of neuroradiology, neurosurgery, and cerebral angiography. He published two books and over 110 articles during his career. Dr. Ecker served overseas with the 52nd General Hospital Unit during World War II; while stationed in England he began a collection of antiquarian medical books. His collection, some 800 volumes, was generously donated to the Historical Collections of the Health Sciences Library in the mid-1990s and significantly contributed to the historical holdings in neurology, neuroanatomy, and anatomical illustration.
EDWARD C. REIFENSTEIN, SR. M.D. (1880 - 1970)
Edward C. Reifenstein Sr. M.D. graduated from Syracuse University College of Medicine in 1904. He was a professor of Internal Medicine at the College of Medicine from 1915-1946, and served as chairman of the department from 1932-1946. He was a prominent physician in the city and organized the first cardiac clinic in Syracuse in 1932. An endowed professorship was created in his name at Syracuse University College of Medicine.
ALBERT G. SWIFT M.D. (1879 - 1959)
Albert G. Swift M.D. was a 1902 graduate of the Syracuse University College of Medicine. He did his residency at Mt. Sinai Hospital and began a practice in New York City, but he returned to his native Syracuse and was an instructor of Anatomy at the College of Medicine from 1912 to 1938. He was the chief of the surgical staffs of both St. Joseph’s Hospital and the Hospital of the Good Shepherd in Syracuse. Dr. Swift was the first surgeon in the area to use spinal anesthesia, and also introduced skeletal traction for the setting of fractures. Dr. Swift was a charter member of the American Board of Surgery, a member of the American College of Surgeons, and an examiner for the New York State Board of Regents.
FRANK P. KNOWLTON A.M. & M.D. (1875 - 1963)
Frank P. Knowlton M.D., A.M. graduated from Hamilton College in 1896 and was an instructor in Physiology and Embryology for the Syracuse University College of Medicine beginning in 1897. He completed his medical degree through the College of Medicine in 1900 and continued as a lecturer until 1906, when we was made associate professor of Physiology. In 1907 he became director of the Physiological Laboratory and in 1908 attained the rank of full professor. From 1911-1912 Dr. Knowlton was at Cambridge University and University College, London. Perhaps his most important work was the development and use of the heart-lung preparation in collaboration with the great physiologist Ernest Starling. Dr. Knowlton became faculty emeritus in 1947.
ROBERT K. BREWER M.D. (1886 - 1945)
Robert K. Brewer M.D. graduated from the Syracuse University College of Medicine in 1913, but he had become an instructor of chemistry for the College in 1909. Dr. Brewer never entered the private practice of medicine, but devoted all his time to teaching and research. He worked his way up to chairman of the Department of Physiological Chemistry by 1917. He was a consultant for Hospital of the Good Shepherd, Syracuse Memorial Hospital, Syracuse City Hospital, Syracuse Psychopathic Hospital and the Syracuse Department of Health. Dr. Brewer died unexpectedly in 1945 while still serving as chairman.