180 Years of Medicine
Honoring generations of alumni, educators and partners who have shaped medical education, discovery and compassionate care.
For nearly two centuries, the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences has educated physician leaders advanced scientific discovery, and served our community with compassion. As we celebrate this milestone, we honor the people who built this legacy, and invite you to help shape what comes next.
A Night of Distinction is one of several signature moments recognizing this extraordinary legacy.
180 Years: Celebrated by the People Who Built It
Alumni, faculty, students and community leaders gathered to honor a shared legacy — and a future shaped together.
Honoring alumni whose leadership continues to shape medicine.
Generations united by a shared commitment to compassionate care.
A legacy built through mentorship, service and generosity.
Drivers of significant positive change and innovation in our community.
Our Night of Distinction honorees included:
Recipient: President Satish Tripathi
The George and Kelly Ellis Medal honors Kelly and George Ellis, MD ’45, whose extraordinary generosity has shaped the future of the University at Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. As the largest individual donors in the school’s history, the Ellises exemplify transformational impact — the very standard this medal represents.
The Ellis Medal is reserved for rare individuals whose vision and leadership have fundamentally advanced the school’s mission and elevated its standing. There is no more fitting inaugural recipient than President Satish Tripathi.
President Tripathi’s leadership and vision to relocate the medical school to the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus transformed the trajectory of the Jacobs School, strengthening its academic and community profile locally, nationally, and internationally. This move positioned UB at the heart of Buffalo’s health innovation corridor and deepened its commitment to the community it serves.
By presenting the inaugural Ellis Medal to President Tripathi, we establish an aspirational benchmark for future honorees whose contributions will continue to shape the Jacobs School for generations to come.
Recipient: Crystal D. Peoples-Stokes
The Community Health Care Advocacy Award honors leaders who champion equitable access to care and strengthen the health of Buffalo’s neighborhoods. This year, we proudly recognize Assemblymember Crystal Peoples-Stokes for her dedication to improving health outcomes across the city of Buffalo.
Through her leadership in state government and the community, Assemblymember Peoples-Stokes has secured state funding to support health care organizations serving Buffalo’s East and West sides — the very communities that the Buffalo Primary Care Initiative aims to serve.
Her advocacy for a recent grant to ECMC to establish a new primary care center on its campus will be transformative in addressing the health care desert on Buffalo’s East Side. As a key partner of the Jacobs School of Medicine, ECMC’s new facility will provide critical educational and training opportunities for students and residents, ensuring future physicians are prepared to serve where they are needed most.
- Renier J. Brentjens, MD ’96, PhD
Deputy Director and Chair of Medicine
Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center - David S. Kountz, MD ’85, MBA
Chief Academic Officer
Hackensack Meridian Health - Elinor R. Schoenfeld, PhD ’88
Research Professor and Vice Chair of Research
Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University
- John J. Bodkin, II, MD ’76
- Michael O’Mara
- Edward Rutkowski
This anniversary honors what generations made possible and invites you to invest in what comes next.
We invite you to consider making a reunion gift to the Buffalo Primary Care Initiative, a program supporting students pursuing primary care fields in response to the severe shortage of physicians in Buffalo’s underserved East and West Side communities.
This fund will provide full tuition for four medical students who commit to practicing in these communities for at least five years after completing training
Night of Distinction Sponsors
We gratefully acknowledge our sponsors for their generous support of our 180th anniversary event and the Buffalo Primary Care Initiative.
Presenting Sponsor – $25,000
Featured Sponsors – $15,000
Gold Sponsors – $5,000
Silver Sponsors – $2,500
