A University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry (UIC
COD) Professor and Associate Dean has been appointed as co-chair of the Global Forum on Innovation in Health
Professional Education.
The Forum is an ongoing activity of the National Academies of Sciences,
Engineering and Medicine that seeks to advance education for health
professionals by bringing together stakeholders from multiple nations and
professions in workshops and forums each year. As co-chair, Caswell Evans,
D.D.S., M.P.H., will help provide insight and oversight of the forum’s annual
workshops and meetings.
“I am quite honored and excited to work with the forum in this
capacity,” says Dr. Evans, Professor and Associate Dean of Prevention and Public
Health Sciences at UIC COD. “I particularly look forward to working with this
group of health care professionals to broaden the conversation around oral
health care and to help illuminate a path forward for ensuring that we are
educating future health professionals in a way that is effective, responsible
and relevant to today’s challenges and tomorrow’s issues.”
Nine countries and 19 health care disciplines are currently
represented in the forum, which was convened for the first time in 2012. Dr. Evans
said his experience at UIC COD, where he has worked since 2004, gives him a
unique perspective to bring to this diverse group of international experts.
“UIC is one of the few dental schools that provides students
with exposure to the important issues of health disparities and access to care,”
says Dr. Evans.
In his view, health professionals are the “guardians of health
for all populations,” and as the forum seeks to advance how health
professionals are educated, this needs to be top of mind.
UIC Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs Robert Barish, M.D.,
M.B.A., joins Clark M. Stanford, D.D.S., Ph.D., Dean of UIC COD, in applauding Dr.
Evans for this achievement.
“I congratulate Dr. Evans on this opportunity and am very proud
to see UIC represented in this highly respected forum,” Dr. Barish says.
“Dr. Evans’ appointment to this forum is evidence of his rich
and impressive background in education, dentistry and public health,” says Dr.
Stanford.
Prior to joining UIC COD, Dr. Evans worked for the Office of the
U.S. Surgeon General as Project Director and Scientific Editor for Oral Health in America: A Report of the
Surgeon General. He was also Director of Public Health Programs and Services
for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and served as faculty at
Howard University College of Dentistry, University of Washington School of
Dentistry and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Dentistry.
Currently, Dr. Evans also serves as a faculty member in the UIC
School of Public Health, on the Chicago Board of Health, and on the boards of
the Institute of Medicine of Chicago and the Children’s Dental Health Project.
As co-chair, Dr. Evans will serve a three-year term, alongside
Deborah Powell, M.D., of the University of Minnesota Medical School.
Courtesy of William S. Bike,
University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry
Published
on February 14, 2018.