[February 7, 2007]

SUNY DOWNSTATE MOURNS THE PASSING OF ITS FORMER PRESIDENT, CALVIN H. PLIMPTON, MD

Calvin H. Plimpton, MD, former president of SUNY Downstate Medical Center, died on January 30. Dr. Plimpton served as president of SUNY Downstate from 1971 until 1979, during a highly formative period at the institution.

Especially notable were his appointments of the first independent deans for the College of Medicine and the Graduate School; a nearly total turnover of departmental chairs, including the appointment of Samuel Kountz as the first African-American Chair of Surgery in the United States; and the appointment of chairs and extensive faculty recruitment in the new disciplines of cell biology and neurosciences. 

Dr. Plimpton facilitated the growth of nephrology, whose dialysis center and renal transplant program were internationally recognized and among the largest in New York State.  Dr. Plimpton also facilitated the pioneering MRI work of Dr. Raymond Damadian in biophysics and medicine, leading to the construction of the world’s first human whole-body imaging MRI machine at Downstate in 1978.

During this same period, Dr. Robert Furchgott discovered a substance in endothelial cells that relaxes blood vessels, later identified as nitric oxide, leading to his Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1998. 

Dr. Plimpton’s tenure was striking throughout for his openness to new ideas, conviviality, and ready access to students and faculty members.

The Downstate community has extended condolences to Dr. Plimpton’s family, colleagues, and friends.