Polytechnic University to Award Presidential Medal to Senator Frank Padavan

Polytechnic University will award its prestigious Presidential Medal to New York State Senator Frank Padavan (11th SD) at a ceremony in Albany on March 7, 2006. The medal is being awarded to Senator Padavan in recognition of his help to Polytechnic University and his formidable contributions to New York State during his 32-year tenure in the senate.

In making the announcement about the award, Polytechnic President Jerry M. Hultin noted that as an alumnus of Polytechnic, Frank Padavan has been a great friend to the University and has earned the esteem of Poly faculty, staff and alumni as one of New York’s most prominent elected officials. “Frank Padavan embodies what we at Polytechnic call The Power of PolyThinking,” says Hultin. “His legislative record is second-to-none in the State Capital, and as The New York Times reported, he is Albany’s most independent legislator.”

A graduate of Polytechnic (Class of ’55) with a bachelor’s in electrical engineering, Padavan first won election to the senate in 1972. He is currently Vice President Pro Tempore of the New York State Senate, and has spearheaded tough anti-crime legislation, was a pioneer in welfare and Medicaid system cost containment and a principal architect of New York City legislation. Before his election to the senate, Padavan was employed by the Westinghouse Electric Corporation and served four years as Deputy Commissioner of the New York City Department of Buildings.