WesternU's Austin Lectureship focuses on Children's Vision
Western University of Health Sciences is proud to announce the third Dr. Robert L. Austin Endowed Lectureship in Pediatric Medicine and Pediatric Health Policy, featuring keynote speaker Deborah Klein Walker, EdD, at 5:30 p.m. March 15, 2012 in the Health Education Center, Lecture Hall 1, 701 E. Second St., Pomona, Calif. 91766.
Dr. Walker’s topic will be “Building a Comprehensive Child Vision Care System.” The Austin Lecture is free and open to the public. Please RSVP to ckavanaugh@westernu.edu or 909-469-8447 by March 9, 2012 to attend the lecture and the reception that follows.
Deborah Klein Walker, EdD, is a Vice President, Senior Fellow and the Practice Leader for Public Health and Epidemiology in the Health Division of Abt Associates Inc. She has more than 40 years of experience in developing and implementing programs, policies and system change, research and evaluation on a broad range of health policy issues.
She is the senior leader for several national evaluation studies, including the National Evaluation of Project Launch (funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration), the National Evaluation of Healthy Start Programs (funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau), and the evaluation of an incentive (Health Bucks) for purchasing at farmers’ markets in New York City (funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).
Before joining Abt in 2004, Dr. Walker served as associate commissioner for programs and prevention at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, where she was responsible for programs in maternal and child health, oral health, nutrition, health promotion and disease prevention (including the tobacco control program), primary care and community health programs (including those for HIV/AIDS and substance abuse), data integration and information systems. She also was responsible for the coordination of public health services with managed care entities, public and private purchasers, and clinical provider associations in the state.
Prior to state service, Dr. Walker was a full-time faculty member at the Harvard School of Public Health and Graduate School of Education, an evaluator for several community-based child development programs, and a professional staff member in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation in the Department of Health, Education and Welfare.
The Dr. Robert L. Austin Endowed Lectureship in Pediatric Medicine and Pediatric Health Policy is presented by Clinton E. Adams, DO, FAAFP, FACHE, dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific (COMP), and by Elizabeth Hoppe, OD, MPH, DrPH, dean of the College of Optometry.
The lectureship was established in Austin’s memory by his wife, Gloria, their children, Charles, Douglas and Lynette, and their families, and is designed to honor and perpetuate his lifelong love of medical practice and his pursuit of pediatric knowledge in the health professions. He was a faculty member at COMP until his retirement in 1981.
