ICO President Augsburger appoints new Vice President and Dean for Academic Affairs
Illinois College of Optometry President, Dr. Arol Augsburger, has appointed Kent Daum, O.D., Ph.D., to the position of Vice President and Dean for Academic Affairs of the Illinois College of Optometry. Dr. Daum currently serves as Associate Professor of Optometry and Associate Scientist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr. Kent Daum earned his O.D., M.S., and Ph.D degrees from The Ohio State University.
In announcing this appointment, President Augsburger comments, “Dr. Daum has a commitment to student recruitment, retention and remediation and an appreciation for the value of faculty governance, defined educational standards and assessment measures. He values clinically focused and evidence based education as well as diversity and the importance of providing vision care to the indigent in society. He will bring to ICO a knowledge base of modern optometry and the direction in which optometry and optometric education is moving.”
Dr. Augsburger also commented on Dr. Daum’s impressive experience with accreditation preparation. “Dr. Daum served as the Chair of UAB’s curriculum committee for 10 years. He has been a consultant to the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education for many years, assessing programs external to his own, and he has served as the chair to UAB’s institutional self-study and review committee that preceded two previous Optometric Degree Program site visits by the ACOE. Dr. Daum clearly has the credentials and the creative and enthusiastic spirit to be part of the successful future of the Illinois College of Optometry and the optometric educational field.”
According to Dr. James Butler, Chairman of the ICO Board of Trustees, “Dr. Daum’s impressive credentials are a compilation of a lifetime of academic and scholarly achievement. He has a good understanding of ICO’s strengths and has the leadership skills to meet future challenges.”
Dr. Daum has been the Principal or Co-principal investigator on 22 grants or contracts in the past 27 years, has 10 publications in press or preparation, 56 refereed publications, one textbook, 12 text book chapters, one monograph, and 52 letters to the editor, abstracts, book reviews or non-refereed papers. He is currently a Referee for seven professional journals.
In the area of service, Dr. Daum has chaired or served on numerous committees for the American Academy of Optometry, American Optometric Association, Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry and Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology. He is also a member of nine professional associations. Dr. Daum is a current Master of Science Mentor as well as a Doctoral Mentor.
Filling the position following a national search to find a successor to 10-year incumbent (Janice E. Scharre, O.D., M.A.) will set a high standard of expectation. Dr. Daum stated, “I plan to listen, learn and understand prior to making any changes in the current model. I understand the challenges ahead in meeting the objectives in ICO’s new Strategic Plan.”
Dr. Daum will join ICO on August 13, 2007. At that time, Dr. Scharre will begin her yearlong sabbatical before she returns to ICO to resume her faculty appointment as Professor in the Pediatrics/Binocular Vision Service.
