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University at Albany Honors Alumni Morales and Calderón During Hispanic Heritage Month

College president, champion of health care literacy are honored Sept. 29

News Release icon Contact: Media Relations Office (518) 956-8150

ALBANY, N.Y. (September 24, 2010) --

The University at Albany is honoring two of its outstanding Latino alumni, Dr. Tomás D. Morales, '78, '98, president of the College of Staten Island, and Dr. José Luis Calderón '77, a champion of health care literacy, as part of National Hispanic Heritage Month.

The two UAlbany alumni will be recognized on Wednesday, Sept. 29, at 4 p.m., at a special event celebrating "Nuestra Herencia Èxito Latino" -- "Our Heritage and Latino Success." -- The event will be held in the Hall of Fame Room at the SEFCU Arena.

"Both of these outstanding graduates are a testament to this institution's long commitment to inclusion and equal opportunity," said University at Albany President George M. Philip.

Jose Calderon and Tomas Morales

Dr. José Luis Calderón '77 (left), and Dr. Tomás D. Morales, '78, '98, who will be honored Sept. 29 at the "Nuestra Herencia Èxito Latino" celebration in the Hall of Fame Room.

Morales earned master's and Ph.D. degrees from UAlbany in educational administration and policy studies. After several years as assistant vice president for student affairs at SUNY New Paltz, he became vice president for student affairs at the City College of New York, CUNY, in 1994 and provost of California State Polytechnic Institute in 2003, before becoming the first Latino president of the College of Staten Island, CUNY, in 2007. He won an Exemplary Leadership Award from the American Association of University Administration in 2003.

Calderón was one of the first two UAlbany alumni to graduate from Harvard Medical School, in 1982. He became director of the Charles R. Drew University Center for Cross-cultural Epidemiologic Studies, and principal investigator for two U.S. Department of Health and Human Services initiatives: the South L.A. Breast Health Promotion and Diabetes Literacy and Self-Efficiency Training projects. In 2004, he was elected president of the Association for the Behavioral Sciences and Medical Education.

Event sponsors include Alianza Latina and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.

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