Dr. Michael S. Bruno ’43, PS’45, Physician, College Alumni Leader

Dr. Michael S. Bruno ’43, PS’45, a physician and administrator at Lenox Hill Hospital and a member of the Columbia College Board of Visitors from 1996 to 2002, died on November 16, 2015, in New York City, where he was born and raised. He was 93. In 2002, Bruno became an emeritus member of the BOV and served in that role until his death. He also served on the Columbia College Alumni Association Board of Directors from 1988 to 1992.

After graduating from P&S, Bruno remained in New York City, interning at Bellevue Hospital before joining the Army and serving in Japan. He was discharged in 1948 as a captain and was appointed chief resident at Bellevue, with additional teaching and administrative responsibilities. In 1956, he became director of the Department of Medicine at Knickerbocker Hospital in Harlem, serving as president of its Medical Board and as a member of the Medical Board Executive Committee.

Bruno joined Lenox Hill Hospital in 1966 and was dedicated to developing its potential as an educational resource. He was associate dean for medical education for the affiliated NYU Medical Center and worked to craft a successful graduate medical program. What once was considered a community hospital is now held in regard as a teaching hospital and tertiary care center, improvements that Bruno helped push.

Director of the Department of Medicine at Lenox Hill Hospital for 35 years, and a member of the Board of Trustees and Joint Conference Committee for 24, Bruno was elected to four terms as president of the Medical Board and was a member of the Lenox Hill Corp.

Dr. Michael S. Bruno ’43, PS’45, Physician, College Alumni Leader

COURTESY BRUNO FAMILY

In addition to his teaching and administrative practices, Bruno was regarded as a highly skilled internist, diagnostician and mentor. In 1978, he approved Dr. Simon Stertzer performing what was then the first balloon angioplasty in the United States. Bruno gave Stertzer the support, encouragement and resources to develop the program, which revolutionized the care of patients with heart disease throughout the world.

Predeceased by his wife, Ida Marion Bruno, in 2002, and by his brother, Gregory, and sister, Lilian, Bruno is survived by his partner, Maria Goode Schwartz; children, Lauretta Bruno BU’70, Pamela Williams and her husband, Charlie, and Michael Bruno BU’82 and his wife, Meg; grandchildren, Geoff Williams ’03, Mike Bruno ’11, Russell Bruno and Price Bruno; and one great-grandchild.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Michael S. Bruno, M.D. Scholarship Fund at Columbia College c/o Jim McMenamin, senior associate dean for Columbia College development and senior director of principal gifts (212-851-7965 or jtm2@columbia.edu), Columbia Alumni Center, 622 W. 113th St., New York, NY 10025; or to the Michael S. Bruno, M.D. Memorial Fund, Lenox Hill Hospital, Attn.: Development Office, 100 E. 77th St., New York, NY 10021.

— Aiyana K. White ’18 and Lisa Palladino