Poskanzer Lecture to feature namesake’s son

09/22/2026

The SUNY Cortland Health Department's upcoming Poskanzer Lecture will feature its namesake's son: respected higher education leader and legal scholar Steven G. Poskanzer.

A professor of political science and president emeritus of Carleton College, Poskanzer will help celebrate the 20th anniversary of the event on Wednesday, Sept. 30, at 3 p.m. in the Corey Union Exhibition Lounge. The lecture is named after his late father, Charles N. Poskanzer, distinguished service professor emeritus of health who served SUNY Cortland for more than 40 years.

Steven Poskanzer's talk, "The Status of Abortion Law after Dobbs: Public Health, Policy and the Future of Reproductive Rights," is free to attend and open to the public.

"This year's lecture continues the tradition of engaging our campus and community in timely and important public health discussions," said Jena Curtis, professor and chair of the university's Health Department. "This year also marks the 20th anniversary of the lecture series, which recognizes Dr. Poskanzer's contributions to public health and continues to shed light on the critical public health issues we face today.

"We are especially honored to welcome his son, Steven, who has followed in his father's footsteps as a brilliant scholar."

An expert on higher education and constitutional law, Steven Poskanzer previously served as vice provost for the SUNY system and later as president of SUNY New Paltz from 2001 to 2010. He was Carleton College's president from 2010 to 2021.

Poskanzer's research focuses on issues of academic freedom and how colleges and universities seek to achieve educational goals in a complex legal and policy environment. In 2025, he published The University's Voice: Principled Silence and Purposeful Speech.

His SUNY Cortland talk will examine abortion law and reproductive health policy in the wake of the Supreme Court's 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which ended federal constitutional protection for abortion.

Drawing on legal analysis and current public health challenges, he will explore how the ruling has reshaped access to reproductive health services across the U.S. and consider the legal disputes and policy questions likely to arise in the coming years, how courts and legislatures may respond and what evolving debates mean for public health outcomes.

His father, Charles, joined the SUNY Cortland Health Department in 1950 and served the university for more than 40 years, earning the title of SUNY distinguished service professor in 1989.

As a specialist in healthcare administration, Charles Poskanzer co-authored a study that led to the passage of the Medicare and Medicaid Act. He attended the 1965 signing of the groundbreaking legislation at the invitation of President Lyndon B. Johnson.

Contact Curtis or the SUNY Cortland Health Department at 607-753-2979 for questions about accessibility or to request accommodations for the Poskanzer Lecture.