Richard Baker, M.D., vice dean of Medical Education for the Wayne State University School of Medicine, will be the keynote speaker at the second inter-professional Health Equity Symposium, set for April 11 at the Human Health Building on the campus of the Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine.

The event, sponsored by the OUWB Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the Oakland University School of Nursing

and Beaumont Hospital, supports National Minority Health Month. The purpose is to highlight the health disparities that persist among racial and ethnic minority populations and the ways in which legislation, policies and programs can help advance health equity.

An ophthalmologist, Dr. Baker formerly served as executive director of the Center for Health Services Research and chair of the Department of Ophthalmology at Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science. He held a joint faculty appointment at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine and was a member of the Jules Stein Eye Institute, where he served as associate director of the Jules Stein Center for Eye Epidemiology. His previous positions at Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science include provost, dean of the College of Medicine, president of the Charles Drew University Multi-Specialty Practice Group, associate vice president for Research, associate dean for Research, assistant dean for Medical Student Research and director of the Charles Drew National Institutes of Health – Research Centers in Minority Institutions Biomedical Research Center. He has also served as associate dean for the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine.

The event will take place in Room 1050 of the Human Health Building, 433 Meadow Brook Road, Rochester, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. For more information, contact Caryn Reed-Hendon, Ph.D., at 248-370-3620 or cyreedhe@oakland.edu.

Celebrated every year in April, National Minority Health Month seeks to raise awareness about health disparities that continue to affect racial and ethnic minority populations. The year 2015 marked the 100th anniversary of the establishment of Negro Health Week by Booker T. Washington, which led to the month-long initiative observed today.