Wilson Society member spotlight: Alan James Kozak ’65, ’69M (MD), ’72M (Res)

Dreams sparked at the University of Rochester, combined with life-changing scholarship support, led to a fulfilling career in medicine and teaching for Alan Kozak.

When Alan James Kozak ’65, ’69M (MD), ’72M (Res), arrived at the University of Rochester as a college student, he had never spent a day away from home. Quickly his universe expanded through friendship and the heavy demands of his coursework—balancing literature with his pre-medical studies. He recalls the late-night sounds of typewriters in response to looming deadlines and the party music that spanned from Chubby Checkers to The Beatles.

It was at a concert, listening to Maynard Ferguson on the trumpet, when an encounter with two medical students sparked Kozak’s dream of staying at Rochester to pursue his medical school education at the School of Medicine and Dentistry (SMD).

At the time, Kozak imagined a future as a surgeon. However, as he graduated from SMD and completed an elective rotation, following an internist in his hometown of Binghamton, NY, he realized how much he valued face-to-face time with patients, hearing their stories and getting to know their families over time. Kozak began an internship year in internal medicine at the Mary lmogene Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown, NY and then returned to Strong Memorial Hospital. The long hours, clinical responsibilities, and academic demands often seemed impossible, but the special camaraderie of his class and pride as “Strong’s Medicine Residents” kept him going. Kozak finished his medical training with a fellowship in infectious disease at the University of Minnesota and returned to Cooperstown to help create the Infectious Disease Division at Bassett.

Now, having completed a rewarding clinical career, Kozak continues to teach medical students as an attending physician. His interest in literature persisted well past his undergraduate years, inspiring him to provide a writing prompt to his students, which later led to the publishing of Let Me Listen to Your Heart: Writings by Medical Students. The book is a collection of essays, poems, and reflections by medical students from the University of Rochester and from Columbia University, as they completed clinical rotations at Bassett.

Thinking back on his education, Kozak shares, “Like many of us, I entered college with no money. Thanks to a very generous University of Rochester scholarship, and later support from the Clark Foundation, I was able to graduate from college and then medical school without a dollar of debt.”

In gratitude, Kozak now supports the University of Rochester so that future students can have the same educational opportunities that he did. Kozak included the University in his estate planning and established two scholarships to support both undergraduate and medical education.

Kozak hopes to ease the journey for students and believes there is great importance in paying his good fortune forward.

“If I can help students realize dreams that lead to a career as fulfilling as mine has been, I will have accomplished a lot. And this will remain my legacy,” he says.