UK College of Public Health Inducts Three into Hall of Fame

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 1, 2013) — The University of Kentucky College of Public Health will induct three new members into the college's Hall of Fame on Oct. 11 at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Lexington.

The Hall of Fame was established in 2004; it recognizes individuals who have made exceptional contributions to the health and welfare of the citizens of the Commonwealth, the nation and/or the world.

This year’s inductees are: Roy Butler, Richard Clayton and Sheila Schuster.

• Roy Butler:  A native Kentuckian and UK graduate, Butler’s distinguished career with the Commonwealth of Kentucky began in January 1951 and concluded as Commissioner of Medicaid in 1992. He spent 41 years focusing on health and social programs within the Cabinet for Human Resources after diligently serving in the administrations of eleven different governors. While serving as Commissioner of Medicaid, Butler concentrated on developing Kentucky's Medicaid program through policy and budget initiatives that increased existing coverage funding substantially while the scope of services was expanded. In 1985, his office introduced a managed patient access and care system limiting participants to a primary physician which reduced duplicated services and prescriptions while providing financial incentive for doctors to accept lower-paying Medicaid patients.  Featured in a nationally-televised broadcast, the program became a model for the nation, potentially saved taxpayers millions of dollars, and remained in effect for more than 25 years

• Richard Clayton:  Richard "Dick" Clayton was raised in Louisiana, graduated from Louisiana College (bachelor's, 1963), Florida State University (master's, 1966) and the University of Tennessee (doctorate, 1970) in sociology. Clayton joined the University of Kentucky in 1970, and until January 2001 when he accepted the Good Samaritan Foundation Chair position in the UK School of Public Health, he was a professor in the department of sociology. Clayton was the founding chair of the department of health behavior and the founding associate dean for research in the College of Public Health. He also helped establish the UK College of Public Health. The Cooper/Clayton Method to Stop Smoking was created by  Clayton and Thomas Cooper (2006 CPH Hall of Fame Inductee) and they have trained over 1,500 community level volunteers to deliver the Cooper/Clayton Method. More than 12,000 Kentuckians are non-smokers because of this method.

• Sheila Schuster: Sheila A. Schuster is a licensed clinical psychologist with graduate degrees from Purdue University and the University of Louisville.  After 27 years of practice as a child psychologist, Schuster now devotes her full-time work to public policy advocacy on mental health, health care and disabilities issues. In 1982, Schuster helped establish and now leads the Kentucky Mental Health Coalition, composed of 80+ organizations representing consumers, families, advocates and providers.  She was the first Executive Director of the Kentucky Psychological Association, serving from 1989-2000, and continues to represent that organization as federal and state legislative liaison. Schuster currently heads the Advocacy Action Network (AAN), an umbrella organization which includes a number of advocacy groups addressing health care, mental health, social justice and disability issues.  AAN has coordinated the advocacy activities of Kentucky Voices for Health, whose goal is to increase health coverage and access to quality health care across the Commonwealth. Schuster currently serves as Chair of this 250-member coalition. Because of her leadership role in the 1990s in representing consumers’ concerns around health care issues, Schuster was appointed by Governor Paul Patton as the first consumer representative on the Kentucky Department of Insurance’s Health Advisory Council.  She was one of the incorporators of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky and completed two terms as its chair.

Read more about the 2013 College of Public Health Hall of Fame Inductees online.

MEDIA CONTACT: Allison Elliott-Shannon, allison.elliott@uky.edu