College of Public Health Inducts Four Into Hall of Fame

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 14, 2012) − The University of Kentucky College of Public Health  will induct four new members into the Hall of Fame during the 9th Annual Public Health Hall of Fame recognition on Oct. 5 at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Lexington.

Each year, the event honors both Kentuckians and non-Kentuckians who have made major contributions to the health of populations, through process or outcome in public health activities, in Kentucky, the nation or internationally. 

This year's inductees are:  Rep. Tom Burch, Dr. William Hacker, Congresswoman Louise Slaughter, and Dr. Marcia Stanhope.

• Representative Tom Burch is a Kentucky native and graduate of Bellarmine College. He began his long record of public service through election to the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1972, and is currently the chairman of the House Health and Welfare Committee.  Burch has sponsored and passed numerous pieces of legislation during his career that have had a profound and positive effect on public health among Kentuckians. 

• Dr. William Hacker graduated from the University of Kentucky’s College of Medicine and completed a pediatrics residency. He began his career in Corbin, Ky., as a pediatrician in a primary care private practice.  Drawing from that experience he made the transition in 1993 to a physician executive with Appalachian Regional Healthcare, Inc. and then CHA Health. He then joined the Commonwealth’s Department for Public Health in 2001 where increasing levels of responsibility led to his appointment as Commissioner of the Department in 2004, a position he held through his retirement in 2011.

• Congresswoman Louise Slaughter is a Kentucky native, with formal training in microbiology. She completed her M.S. in Public Health at the University of Kentucky, a focus that would serve her well in the U.S. House of Representatives, where she has represented a district in western New York for over 26 years.  Congresswoman Slaughter has been a tireless advocate for the health and well-being of all Americans, playing a central role in crafting and fostering support of many key pieces of legislation addressing public health research, healthcare, and human rights concerns.

• Marcia Stanhope completed her Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctor of Science degrees in nursing, she joined the faculty of the University of Kentucky where she has gained national and international distinction in public health nursing.  This distinction emerges from her innovations in practice, her continued scholarship in the field, and her leadership in academic, professional, and civic institutions.

The Hall of Fame was established within UK's College of Public Health as a means of formally recognizing lifetime achievement in and commitment to careers that have made significant impacts within the field of public health or on the health and well-being of populations. This year’s inductees demonstrate such achievement and commitment.

Media Contact:  Ann Blackford at (859)323-6442 or ann.blackford@uky.edu