SAN FRANCISCO – David W. Parke II, MD, took the helm of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (Academy) on April 1 as the Academy’s new executive vice president (EVP) and chief executive officer (CEO). He succeeded retiring EVP/CEO H. Dunbar Hoskins Jr., MD, who led the Academy since 1993.

“I am looking forward to working with and representing the Academy’s members,” said Dr. Parke. “It is an honor to be able to serve the profession I love. Ophthalmology faces opportunities and challenges in the coming months and years, and I pledge to dedicate my best efforts to address both. I am especially indebted to Dr. Hoskins, whose skill and commitment has left the Academy well positioned to face the tasks ahead of us.”

Dr. Parke has served on the Academy’s Board of Trustees since 2000 and was the 2008 Academy president. He has been a strong advocate for patient safety and took a leadership role in educating Oklahoma state legislators about the unique qualifications of Eye M.D.s.

Dr. Parke was the president and CEO of the Dean McGee Eye Institute in Oklahoma City, one of the nation's largest nonprofit facilities devoted solely to research, clinical care and education in ophthalmology and vision science.  Dr. Parke was also professor and chair of the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine.

He holds many leadership positions, including being a founding member of MedEncentive, a company integrating evidence-based medicine into a pay-for-performance structure. Dr. Parke also serves on the Board of Directors of the Ophthalmic Mutual Insurance Company (OMIC).

More about Dr. Parke [full biography]
Dr. Parke is a graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy, Stanford University and an Alpha Omega Alpha graduate of the Baylor College of Medicine. He completed residency training at Baylor College of Medicine, serving as chief resident. He then completed two years of fellowship training in diseases and surgery of the retina and vitreous. His professional activities have focused on that subspecialty and on medical education and biomedical organizational leadership and development.

He has served on the editorial board of two ophthalmic journals and was executive editor of the American Journal of Ophthalmology. He has received numerous biomedical research grants and was awarded the Dean’s Award for Distinguished Medical Service at the University of Oklahoma.  Dr. Parke lectures widely on topics in retinal diseases and surgery, academic professional development, medical liability insurance, and medical organizational leadership and management. He is recognized in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in the World and Best Doctors in America. He is married to Julie T. Parke, MD. They have three children.

About the American Academy of Ophthalmology
The Academy is the world's largest association of eye physicians and surgeons—Eye M.D.s—with more than 27,000 members worldwide.  Eye health care is provided by the three “O’s” – opticians, optometrists and ophthalmologists. It is the ophthalmologist, or Eye M.D., who can treat it all: eye diseases, infections and injuries, and perform eye surgery. For more information, visit the Academy's Web site at www.aao.org.