Hofstra University Monday welcomed the inaugural class of the Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine, marking a critical leg of its bid to vault into the ranks of the nation's top 50 universities and potentially spurring growth of Long Island's high-tech economy.

Quickening the pace of Hofstra's decade-old effort to boost its national profile, the medical school puts the university and its partner -- North Shore-LIJ Health System -- in an elite club of 135 educational institutions nationwide with MD programs. Next up: creation of a separate School of Engineering and Applied Science, announced just last month.

Pfc. Raheen Tyson Heighter, of Bay Shore, was killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom. His mother has made it her mission to aid active-duty service members, veterans, first responders and Gold Star families. NewsdayTV's Virginia Huie reports. Credit: Randee Daddona; Photo credit: Cathy Heighter

'His sacrifice made a difference': Gold Star mother honors son's memory Army Pfc. Raheen Tyson Heighter, 22, of Bay Shore, was the first serviceman from Long Island killed in the Iraq War.

Pfc. Raheen Tyson Heighter, of Bay Shore, was killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom. His mother has made it her mission to aid active-duty service members, veterans, first responders and Gold Star families. NewsdayTV's Virginia Huie reports. Credit: Randee Daddona; Photo credit: Cathy Heighter

'His sacrifice made a difference': Gold Star mother honors son's memory Army Pfc. Raheen Tyson Heighter, 22, of Bay Shore, was the first serviceman from Long Island killed in the Iraq War.

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