Siena College is honored to have the opportunity to recognize the achievements of Doctor Edmund D. Pellegrino, Physician, Educator, and world-renowned Ethicist in the Health Sciences, for his exceptional 60 year career of service and leadership.
Dr. Pellegrino was awarded his Bachelor of Science from St. John's University, New York, NY in 1941 and his Doctor of Medicine from New York University, New York, NY in 1944. He served residencies in medicine at Bellevue Hospital, New York, NY; Goldwater Memorial Hospital, New York, NY; and Homer Folks Tuberculosis Hospital, Oneonta, NY. Subsequently, he was a Research Fellow in Renal Medicine and Physiology at New York University.
Dr. Pellegrino is Professor Emeritus of Medicine and Medical Ethics and Adjunct Professor of Philosophy at Georgetown University, Washington, DC. At Georgetown, he has served as Director of the Center for Clinical Medical Ethics of Georgetown University Medical Center; Director of the Kennedy Institute of Ethics; and Director of the Center for the Advanced Study of Ethics. Additionally, he has served as President of The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC; President and Chairman of the Yale-New Haven Medical Center; Chancellor and Vice President of Health Affairs at the University of Tennessee; founding Chairman of the Department of Medicine at the University of Kentucky; and founding Director and Vice President of the Health Sciences Center, State University of New York, Stony Brook, the leader of six Schools of Health Sciences and the associated Hospital, and served as Health Affairs Dean of the School of Medicine. In 2004, he was named to the International Bioethics Committee of the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which is the only advisory body within the United Nations system to engage in reflection on the ethical implications of advances in the Life Sciences. From 2005 to 2009, he served as Chair of the President's Council on Bioethics, an advisory forum of the Federal Government.
Dr. Pellegrino's research interests include the history and philosophy of medicine, professional ethics, and the physician - patient relationship. He has authored or coauthored 24 books and more than 550 published articles in medical science, philosophy, and ethics; is Founding Editor of The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy; a Master of the American College of Physicians; Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science; member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences; a recipient of The Benjamin Rush Award from the American Medical Association, and The Abraham Flexner Award of the Association of American Medical Colleges. Throughout his career, Dr. Pellegrino has continued seeing patients in clinical consults; teaching medical students, interns and residents; and pursuing research. Since his retirement in 2000, Dr. Pellegrino has remained at Georgetown, continuing to write, teach medicine and bioethics, and participate in regular clinical attending services.
In recognition of his dedication to live a noble life of service to others as a physician, educator, and ethicist, Siena College awards Doctor Edmund D. Pellegrino, the honorary degree, Doctor of Humane Letters.