College hosts symposium on Global and Environmental Health

North Central College will host a symposium on Global and Environmental Health, featuring two keynote speakers with expertise on the subject—Augustine Afullo, Ph.D., and Christopher ‘Sola Olopade, M.D.—and sessions led by College faculty and students on Feb. 19.

This year’s annual symposium continues the College’s campus-wide focus on Global Human Rights and is co-sponsored by the Office of International Programs and Leadership, Ethics and Values program. The free event will take place from 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 19, in the Harold and Eva White Activities Center. Here’s the lineup:

4 p.m. Keynote Talk: “The Case for Global Health” by Christopher ‘Sola Olopade, M.D., clinical director of the University of Chicago Global Health Initiative

4:30 p.m. Three concurrent sessions led by
•    Augustine Afullo, Ph.D., North Central’s Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence from Kenya
•    Tim Morris, Ph.D., North Central College professor of philosophy
•    Students in the Indigenous Peoples and the State class (SOA 421), taught by Matthew Krystal, North Central associate professor of political science, sociology and anthropology

5 p.m. Keynote Talk: “Why Environmental Health? The Environmental Burden of Disease” by Dr. Augustine Afullo, North Central’s Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence from Kenya Methodist University, Nairobi, Kenya

5:30 p.m. Three concurrent sessions led by
•    Christopher ‘Sola Olopade, M.D.
•    Tim Morris  
•    Students in the SOA 421 class

The first keynote speaker, Dr. ‘Sola Olopade, is professor of family medicine and medicine, clinical director of the University of Chicago Global Health Initiative and a skilled pulmonologist with expertise in asthma, lung diseases and bronchiectasis. His research focuses on determining best practices for asthma management and the relationship between environmental and genetic factors and their effect on asthma, particularly in developing countries. He received his M.D. from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and holds a master’s degree in public health.

The second keynote speaker, Dr. Afullo, is a senior lecturer, researcher and consultant in environmental and occupational health and management with more than 20 years of teaching experience. From Kenya, he holds an M.S. in water and environmental management from the Water, Engineering and Development Centre at Loughborough University in the United Kingdom, an M.S. from Moi University in Kenya and a Ph.D. from Commonwealth Open University in the British Virgin Islands. Afullo has been teaching at North Central College since fall term while serving as a resident scholar.

Morris will speak in two sessions about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, comparing it with health care systems of other nations. At North Central, Morris teaches courses in bioethics, environmental ethics, economic and social justice, and an introductory team-taught biology course dealing with water and food on a number of levels. He served on a panel at the annual meeting of the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities, dealing with the interface between bioethics and environmental ethics.

For more information contact Jack Shindler, professor of English and director of international programs, at 630-637-5287.