| Press Releases |
Illinois College of Optometry Welcomes Barclay Bakkum, D.C., Ph.D., as Associate Dean
CHICAGO – The Illinois College of Optometry is pleased to announce the appointment of Barclay (Bic) Bakkum, D.C., Ph.D., as the new associate dean for academic affairs.
Dr. Bakkum has been a full-time faculty member at ICO for more than five years, and was chair of the school’s curriculum committee. As associate dean, he will assist in the operations and development of ICO’s academic program. He also will work with ICO faculty on to recruit, evaluate and select academic faculty and staff; develop work assignments and encourage research; and foster positive communication between faculty, students and administration.
“Dr. Bakkum is well-versed in the educational issues facing our curriculum today, and he has valuable experience doing academic administrative work,” said Kent Daum, OD, dean and vice president for academic affairs. “We are excited to have him as part of the academic administrative team."
Dr. Bakkum’s clinical training is in chiropractic and his academic training is in anatomy and cell biology with an emphasis in neuroscience. Before coming to ICO, he taught anatomy at National University of Health Sciences for 15 years. While there, he was chairman of the anatomy department and was heavily involved in the implementation and administration of a modified problem-based curriculum.
“I am humbled and excited that I was named to this position,” Dr. Bakkum said. “Being a non-optometrist, I hope to bring an open mind and a fresh perspective. I will work hard at trying to find out the core truths about what is going well at ICO – and possibly enhance those things – and what is not going so well, and attempt to address those things. I pledge to work diligently to help ICO fulfill its mission of providing quality optometric education, and I look forward to the opportunities and challenges that this new position holds for me.”
Dr. Bakkum is a native of Manchester, Iowa, and currently lives in Aurora.
--
About the Illinois College of Optometry
The Illinois College of Optometry (ICO) provides excellence in optometric clinical education and is one of the world’s leading urban optometric institutions. Since its founding in 1872 by Dr. Henry Olin, ICO has offered aspiring optometrists the education and experience needed to meet the challenges of a changing health care environment and become leaders who will advocate for patients and the profession alike. Located in Chicago, ICO has a long and distinguished legacy as the oldest continually operating educational facility in the world dedicated solely to the teaching of optometrists. For more information about the Illinois College of Optometry, visit www.ico.edu.
