Old Westbury, NY – Wolfgang Gilliar, D.O., was installed today as the fifth dean of New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Gilliar, the popular chairman of the school's osteopathic manipulative medicine department, told a crowd of students, faculty, and staff that he would boost interdisciplinary innovations with other NYIT schools, offer alumni access to lectures and courses, and create a new department of medical education to focus on academic improvements.

Gilliar said he hoped students would become competent, confident, and compassionate physicians through their medical education at NYIT.

"You are our mission," he said. "You are the real reason why we are here."

Gilliar said his vision for the school also includes the creation of a research center focused on technology and touch – the very basis of osteopathic medicine. Studies in haptics and sensory systems might lead, he said, to collaborations in the fields of bioengineering and nanotechnology.

Gilliar said strong scholarship and the "richness of talent in our faculty" will help move the College of Osteopathic Medicine forward.

"What's holding us back from believing that we can, in a few years, be among the top 25 of U.S. medical schools?" he asked. "I think we can get there."

NYIT President Edward Guiliano, Ph.D., who announced Gilliar's appointment in September, introduced Gilliar as a "well schooled, highly-regarded professional" who will "bring us to the next growth period."

Gilliar, 56, a former professor at both Stanford University School of Medicine and Tufts University School of Medicine, was selected last year as the 2012 Educator of the Year by the American Osteopathic Foundation. He began his career at NYIT in 2004.

"We salute your leadership and dedication and look forward to your stewardship for many years to come," Guiliano said.

Vice President of Health Sciences and Medical Affairs Barbara Ross-Lee, D.O., who served as dean from 2001 – 2006, paid homage to previous deans, noting their accomplishments in establishing the school in 1977, growing its student body, initiating the Center for Global Health and the Institute for Clinical Competence, and, more recently, increasing faculty and student research.

Gilliar succeeds Thomas Scandalis, D.O., '87, who now heads the new Center for Sports Medicine and Performance Sciences.

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About NYIT

New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) offers 90 degree programs, including undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees, in more than 50 fields of study, including architecture and design; arts and sciences; education; engineering and computing sciences; health professions; management; and osteopathic medicine. A non-profit independent, private institution of higher education, NYIT has 14,000 students attending campuses on Long Island and Manhattan, online, and at its global campuses. NYIT sponsors 11 NCAA Division II programs and one Division I team.

Led by President Edward Guiliano, NYIT is guided by its mission to provide career-oriented professional education, offer access to opportunity to all qualified students, and support applications-oriented research that benefits the larger world. To date, 92,000 graduates have received degrees from NYIT. For more information, visit nyit.edu.

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