Syracuse, NY — Upstate Medical University revealed 6-foot-2-inch statues Thursday to honor two pioneering female doctors: Sarah Loguen Fraser and Elizabeth Blackwell.

The bronze life-sized sculptures surround the entrance to Upstate’s main academic building, Weiskotten Hall. They’re meant to serve as a reminder that Upstate is the first co-ed medical school in the country, President Mantosh Dewan said.

Blackwell became the first female to earn a medical degree in America when she graduated first in her class from Geneva Medical College in 1849. That school would later become SUNY Upstate.

Loguen Fraser was the fourth Black woman to earn a medical degree in the United States. That was in 1876.

“Every day, these two women will loudly declare that we have welcomed all deserving people for

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