New Speaker Scheduled for Year of the City Lecture Series

SUNY Buffalo State is pleased to welcome Patrick Whalen, chief operating officer for the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus Inc. (BNMC). Whalen will speak on “The Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus: Collaboration at Its Best” on Thursday, February 21, at 12:15 p.m. in E. H. Butler Library 210.

While Whalen’s official title may be chief operating officer, he acts as the “entrepreneur-in-residence” for the BNMC. He is well-qualified for the job: Whalen started more than 20 businesses before joining BNMC in March 2008. One business, Fulfillment Systems International, grew from a start-up to a firm with annual sales of $20 million before being sold to UPS.

Whalen works to foster collaboration and job creation, and to attract dynamic companies and people from around the world to the BNMC. He excels at connecting entrepreneurs, leaders, funders, and thinkers to make growth happen in Western New York. He attended Canisius College and graduated from the University at Buffalo’s Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership.

Whalen will present the history and development of the BNMC, including a discussion of the company’ s footprint when it started, what it looks like today, and what it’s expected to look like in three years.

“We are very pleased to have Mr. Whalen speak,” said Mark Severson, dean of the School of Natural and Social Sciences and chair of the Year of the City Planning Committee. “We look forward to hearing an insider’s perspective on one of the Buffalo’s most promising endeavors.”

Note: Whalen is stepping in for Matthew K. Enstice, BNMC president and CEO, who was originally scheduled for this presentation.