Neil Freeman '85 Receives Columbia University Alumni Medal

For nearly two decades, Neil Freeman '85 has been a familiar and welcoming presence at VP&S alumni gatherings, student events, and reunion weekends. This spring, he joined fellow honorees at Columbia Commencement following his selection as a 2026 Columbia University Alumni Medal recipient, one of the University’s highest honors for alumni leadership and volunteerism.

Known for his warmth, humility, and good humor, Dr. Freeman has served on nearly every major leadership committee within the VP&S Alumni Association, helping generations of alumni and students feel connected to the Columbia community.

A diagnostic radiologist at St. Clare’s Hospital in Denville, New Jersey, Dr. Freeman has served the VP&S Alumni Association in numerous leadership roles, including president from 2012 to 2014, vice president, member of the Alumni Board of Directors, and co-chair for the Class of 1985 alongside his wife and classmate, Dr. Linda Aboody '85. Together, they helped launch the alumni association’s “Home Away from Home” initiative, welcoming medical students into their home during holidays and milestones and helping incoming students build community before arriving on campus. The program later evolved into the nationwide Welcome Hub initiative.

Dr. Freeman’s devotion to Columbia is deeply personal. His father, Morris Freeman '51, attended VP&S after emigrating from Romania and serving in the Navy during World War II. Dr. Freeman has described reconnecting with VP&S alumni leadership after years practicing medicine outside New York as “a homecoming of sorts.”

His commitment to students also extends to philanthropy. In 2018, he and Dr. Aboody established the Linda Rachel Aboody, M.D. '85 and Neil Joshua Freeman, M.D. '85 Scholarship Fund to support VP&S medical students.

In nominating Dr. Freeman for the Alumni Medal, the VP&S Office of Alumni Relations praised his “enduring leadership, generosity, and example” and noted his ability to bring people together with empathy and grace. Earlier this year, Dr. Freeman was also recognized with the VP&S Gold Medal for Meritorious Service to VP&S and its Alumni Association, another acknowledgment of his longstanding dedication to the VP&S community.