Melvin D. Shipp, OD, MPH, DrPH

Since 2004, Dr. Melvin D. Shipp has served as the Dean of The Ohio State University College of Optometry . In addition to the Doctor of Optometry (OD) degree, this College offers the MS and PhD degrees in Vision Science, and—beginning in 2009—the combined OD/MPH degree.Previously, Dr. Shipp was a member of the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Optometry faculty, and also served as the Assistant Dean of Clinical Services, and Director of Clinics.

Dr. Shipp has been an active APHA member for over 25 years. He served on the APHA Executive Board of Directors as Treasurer and Chair of the APHA Finance Committee, and as the Founding Chair of the APHA Education Committee. Prior to this, he was a Governing Councilor (VC); a member of The Nation's Health Advisory Committee; Chair of the APHA Nominating Committee; and Chair of the Ad-Hoc Nomination and Campaign Review Committee. Within the Vision Care Section, he served as a VCS Councilor and VCS Program Chairman. Presently, he is a member of APHA’s Public Health Fellowship Committee.

Dr. Shipp has advised/served several federal institutions, notably, the Food and Drug Administration, the Health Resources and Services Administration, the National Eye Institute (NEI) of the National Institutes of Health, and the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). He was a member of the NEI Planning Committee for the National Eye Health Education Project, a nationwide program with the goal of preventing blindness through public and professional education. In 2006, he co-chaired the development of a CDC sponsored vision health initiative, Improving the Nation’s Vision Health: A Coordinated Public Health Approach. Dr. Shipp is currently a member of Prevent Blindness America’s National Board of Directors. 

Dr. Shipp is the Immediate Past-President of the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO).  ASCO is comprised of the twenty member schools and colleges of optometry in the United States and Puerto Rico.

Dr. Shipp earned his Doctor of Optometry (OD) from Indiana University, his Master of Public Health (MPH) from Harvard University, and his Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) from the University of Michigan.He is a former Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellow; during this fellowship, he was a health legislative assistant to Senator Donald Riegle, Jr. (D-MI).