Melvin Shipp

Dean Emeritus
Address
338 West 10th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210
Biography

Prior to his arrival to OSU, from 1976 to 2004, Dr. Shipp was a member of the faculty at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UABSO). His experiences at UABSO include academic administration, health profession education, and applied clinical and health policy research. From 1980 to 1986 he served as the Assistant Dean for Clinical Services and Director of Clinics. In addition to his UABSO teaching, research and service responsibilities, Dr. Shipp chaired and served on university-wide committees charged with improving the overall health status of under-served and economically disadvantaged communities in Alabama.

Dr. Shipp has served as a consultant, panelist, and reviewer for several federal institutions—notably, the Food and Drug Administration, the Health Resources and Services Administration, and the National Eye Institute (NEI) of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Shipp served on the NEI National Advisory Eye Council (1989-1993). From 1990 to 1995, he was a member of the NEI Planning Committee for the National Eye Health Education Project (NEHEP), a nationwide program with the goal of preventing blindness through public and professional education programs.

Dr. Shipp has also assumed leadership and membership roles within a variety of non-federal national health related organizations. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry (AAO), and a Diplomate—and former Chair—of the Public Health and Environmental Optometry Section. He has also assumed various leadership roles with the Vision Care Section of the American Public Health Association (APHA). Dr. Shipp was elected to the office of APHA Treasurer in 2000, and presently is a member of the APHA Executive Board.

Dr. Shipp’s research interests include the evaluation of the impact of vision related public policy and traffic safety, the reduction of racial and ethnic eye and vision health disparities, and relationships between blood homocysteine levels and premature presbyopia.

Dr. Shipp received the Doctor of Optometry (OD) from Indiana University, the Master of Public Health (MPH) from Harvard University, and the Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) from the University of Michigan. Dr. Shipp is only the second optometrist to receive the DrPH degree; he is the first to do so through the highly competitive Pew Health Policy Doctoral Fellowship Program at the University of Michigan.