Touro Buys New York Medical School

All those who attended the Lander College Alumni Shabbaton were privileged on Saturday night of the Shabbaton to hear a brief speech from Dr. Bernard Lander, the founder of Touro College, and the namesake of its branch in Queens, the Lander College for Men. During his speech, Dr. Lander shared with the crowd the very exciting (but yet to be finalized) news that Touro College has, rather than trying to attain all the permits necessary to establish a new medical college, decided to purchase the New York Medical College. LoHud is closing in on the story:

New York Medical College, which has been looking for a large university to take it over, has signed a letter of intent with a university the medical school won't identify.

"For a while New York Medical College has been exploring several candidates and last month signed a letter of intent with one of those candidates," the medical school's spokeswoman, Donna Moriarty, said.

Citing a confidentiality agreement, Moriarty, medical school officials and faculty members declined to talk about the school's possible sale.

The college, sponsored by the Archdiocese of New York, is one of the largest private medical schools in the country but one of the last that is not part of a university.

It has operated with a deficit in recent years, reflecting the financial instability of its affiliated hospitals, including Westchester Medical Center.

The archdiocese also declined comment, spokesman Joseph Zwilling said.

In the past, officials from three Catholic universities - St. John's University in Queens, Fordham University in the Bronx and Seton Hall University in New Jersey - have toured the medical school.

Officials at Touro College, a Jewish university with sites on Long Island and in New York City, are in "serious negotiations" with New York Medical College, spokeswoman Barbara Franklin said yesterday. She also said Touro officials were bound by a confidentiality agreement.

The benefits to Touro and by extension students at Lander are obvious; this is a momentous occasion for Touro and for Lander. When Dr. Lander made the announcement at the Melave Malka, it was met with not only huge applause but also a sense of wonderment on the part of many alumni, who were positively impressed that he was still so active and able to pull off such a deal, considering his age. Dr. Lander himself addressed this point, noting that though he is in his mid-90's now, he still has the same schedule he's had for fourty years: Arriving to work at 9:30 in the morning, and staying until 6:00 in the evening. Certainly, this is just another stone in his wall of accomplishments, and will assist Lander students tremendously for years to come.