The First Woman President of SUNY’s Upstate Medical University

The State University of New York board of trustees has appointed Danielle Laraque-Arena as president of Upstate Medical University in Syracuse. When she takes office on January 14, she will become the first woman to serve as president of the institution.

“Dr. Danielle Laraque-Arena is an accomplished professional with precisely the right balance of academic, medical, and community engagement experience needed to lead our esteemed SUNY Upstate Medical University,” said SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher in announcing the appointment.

Dr. Laraque-Arena has been serving as chair of the department of pediatrics at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York, and as a professor of pediatrics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. Earlier, she was the Debra and Leon Black Professor of Pediatrics and chief of the Division of General Pediatrics at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York.

Dr. Laraque-Arena is a native of Haiti. She holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and a medical doctorate from the University of California, Los Angeles. She completed her internship and residency at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, which is affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania.