Dr. David Friedman ’65 Creates Award to Reward Excellence and Inspire Student Achievement

Dr. David Friedman grew up in Flushing until the age of 11 when his family moved to Jericho, Long Island, where he was a member of the first graduating class of Jericho High School. “When I was 17, my 15-year-old sister passed away,” David says of his choice to attend QC. “I decided to stay close to home to emotionally support my parents during this devastating time.”

David says his favorite part of his time at Queens College was determining that he had a deep interest in physiological psychology, now known as a cognitive neuroscience. He earned his BA in history with a minor in psychology, an MA in experimental psychology, and from the Graduate School of CUNY his PhD in pupillography and event-related potentials.

In gratitude for his Queens College education that he credits with sparking an interest in what would become his lifelong career, David has created the Dr. David Friedman Award for Excellence in Behavioral Neuroscience “to reward excellence in our current students to inspire them to continue to achieve and excel. Being recognized for excellence is an acknowledgment of all you have accomplished. It inspires you and pushes you forward to continue to achieve.”

Now semi-retired, David has enjoyed a career in cognitive neuroscience research spanning nearly 50 years—first at Einstein College of Medicine in the Neurology Department then from 1975 onward at the Psychiatric Institute affiliated with Columbia University. He now teaches a course on memory and executive function at the downtown Columbia campus every spring.

David encourages others to consider the legacies they could leave to support current and future students. “If you appreciate the excellent teachers you had as a student here and feel you received a good education, this is a way to give back and encourage students as they start the path to a career in their chosen field.”