42 As chief of staff for the School of Medicine at Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) in Bethesda, MD, Dr. Kevin Jackson manages 1,000 employees and all financial operations. But Dr. Jackson, who retired from the Navy after 25 years in September as commander of the Medical Service Corps, has also led MEDFLAG, a 15-member eye care team, on an eight-day mission in the Sahara to see more than 1600 patients, established both a mobile eye clinic for shipboard patients and the Navy’s first infant vision clinic, and served as NASA space shuttle support team medical coordinator. He began his military career as an undergraduate student at the University of Notre Dame with a Navy ROTC scholarship. Upon graduation, he served on the USS Independence aircraft carrier as a division officer in Yokosuka, Japan. He was inspired to pursue optometry when a friend introduced him to the optometrist on base; another conversation with his friend and fellow alumnus James Winnick, OD ’97, led him to SUNY College of Optometry. Dr. Jackson returned to the College in 2005 for a certificate in clinical management and health care administration while earning an MPH at Columbia University with a medical informatics concentration. He is also an assistant professor of preventative medicine and biostatistics at USU and chair of the public health and environmental vision section of the American Academy of Optometry. “SUNY College of Optometry is frequently mentioned among my colleagues as the primary place to do a residency in vision rehabilitation.” – DR. KEVIN JACKSON Previously… Director for Education, Training, and Research, Fort Belvoir Community Hospital, Alexandria, VA Optometry Department Head, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, MD Director for Ancillary Services, Naval Academy Health Clinic, Annapolis, MD Kevin Jackson, OD ’98 Chief of Staff Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences School of Medicine Alumni Spotlight
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