[1][5] While at Columbia, he "led a broad revision of the medical school curriculum designed to increase the students' understanding of the scientific and research bases that underlay the practice of medicine.

Similar to the restructuring of curriculum which he had led at Columbia, at MSKCC "he presided over a complete overhaul and diversification of the Institute's research faculty towards making the organization 'more advanced and adventurous.

"[6][4] "The idea of a center owned and operated collectively by nine highly competitive academic institutions was a pioneering social experiment that many viewed as unrealistic.

Its overwhelming success created a model that was subsequently replicated...[Rifkind's] vision, his strength and steadfastness of purpose formed the bedrock on which the Center was built.

[6] In 2004 he and his wife made The Venetian Dilemma, a film which explored the conflict between long- and short-term urban interests in Venice.

"[4] He spent several years documenting on film the experiences of three young scientists in training in a laboratory at Columbia University, not knowing if the students would fail or succeed in their projects.

The resulting film, Naturally Obsessed, received an award from the National Academy of Sciences, was broadcast around the world, and is used as a teaching tool in dozens of universities.