May 14, 2022, saw the culmination of a dream, a lot of hard work and the vision of two men when the first-ever class of the Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine (NSU MD) graduated from Nova Southeastern University.
Established just four years ago, 46 members of the charter class of NSU MD received their degrees and are now heading off for residencies across the United States. They joined nearly 250 graduates from NSU’s Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine in this year’s graduating class. And here’s a fun fact – NSU is the only university in Florida, and one of only four in the United States, to award both M.D. and D.O. degrees.
All of this was made possible due to a chance meeting five years ago between Dr. George Hanbury, NSU’s President and CEO and Tampa Bay cardiologist and philanthropist Dr. Kiran C. Patel.
Initially, the Patel Family Foundation made a donation that resulted in the expansion and renaming of the university’s long-established College of Osteopathic Medicine. Established in 1981, the college was based at the university’s Fort Lauderdale/Davie, Campus – but thanks to this new partnership, a secondary location was established in the Clearwater/Tampa Bay area. The donation also allowed the university to rename another college at NSU – the Dr. Pallavi Patel College of Health Care Sciences.
But that wasn’t enough for Dr. Patel and his wife, Dr. Pallavi Patel. When they learned NSU was establishing a new M.D college they wanted to be involved and help. That increased involvement led to the naming of that new college as well.
The philanthropic gifts provided to NSU by Dr. Kiran C. Patel and his wife, Dr. Pallavi Patel, not only made them the largest contributors to the university, but they are the first Indian-Americans to have medical schools in the U.S. named after them.
NSU’s 2022 commencement ceremony celebrated the united vision of Dr. Hanbury and the Patels. Dr. Patel received a standing ovation during his commencement address, and Dr. Hanbury bestowed upon him an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree for his many contributions to the lives of others.
“You truly deserve the place you are in, but remember with that you also inherit a lot of responsibility,” Dr. Patel said to the graduating class. “I hope you will carry out the NSU Florida core values and make the Patel college world-recognized through your efforts.”
Graduate Luis Santiesteban says he feels honored to be one of the M.D. program’s first graduates. Santiesteban grew up in South Florida and soon will begin his clinicals in general surgery at HCA Kendall Hospital in Miami.
“I’m part of a community, a great institution,” he said. “Being part of the charter class, I am a pioneer, helping to pave the way for others and building a foundation for the program.”
Dr. Pallavi Patel said that the reason for the Patels’ flourishing partnership with the university is to give med students in decades to come a sense of belonging.
“We always wanted to help a lot of people who want to be medical professionals, and who are struggling or looking for a place where they have a happy and healthy environment to flourish their dream,” she in an interview in 2018.
Original source can be found here.
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