For the first time in nearly two decades, RPI has a new medical director, Dr. Leslie Lawrence, an energetic individual with plenty of experience with the details of running a university health program.
Lawrence first came to the Capital Region as a student of Albany Medical College. His enthusiasm for winter sports kept him in the area, first as a resident at St. Clare’s, and then at his own private practice in Malta for 11 years. Three years ago, an acquaintance asked Lawrence if he knew anyone interested in taking on the role of medical director at SUNY-Albany. Looking for a new challenge, he took the position himself.
Several factors attracted him to the position at RPI, starting with the opportunity to work at a highly respected school that is in the national spotlight—he feels this will create chances to interact with medical professionals with other schools around the country. Lawrence also credited the leadership and organization at Rensselaer as another factor in making the move.
He also sees stronger school spirit at RPI than at Albany. His first exposure to the Institute was during his days as an undergraduate at Cornell, when he came to Troy to watch their hockey team take on the Engineers at the Big Red Freakout. The experience left quite an impact, and one of the first things Lawrence did upon arriving on campus was to buy tickets to Friday night’s game against Union.
Lawrence notes that after only a few days on the job, he’s still learning the ropes, but he plans to try to bring his energy and enthusiasm to bear on improving services for students.
“I don’t want to change anything if it’s working well,” he says, but his experience at Albany has taught him that student health services tend to be more useful when actively “drawing people out.”
Lawrence lists educating students about illnesses as the number one job of a college health office. His own experience suggests that the three most prevalent classes of health issues that students face are anxiety and depression; consequences of sexual activity (STDs, birth control, etc.); and routine illnesses such as colds and the flu.
He also has special concerns for the school’s large international population. Cultural issues can often cause international students to avoid seeking medical advice, and the American health insurance system is a boondoggle that many foreign-born students find themselves unprepared to deal with.
In the end, though, Lawrence’s most immediate goal seems to be ensuring that the student community is comfortable taking advantage of the services the health center has to offer. “You should give the students something,” he says, “but they should enjoy getting it.”
