BCD hosting Kevin Collins

(DALLAS) — The Texas A&M Health Science Center Baylor College of Dentistry will host Kevin Collins, program consultant for the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion’s Office on Smoking and Health, at 11:30 a.m. Feb. 14 in Room 605.

Sponsored by the college’s Student National Dental Association in recognition of Black History Month, Collins’ presentation, titled “Eliminating Tobacco-related Disparities,” is open to faculty, staff, students and the general public. HSC-BCD’s Office of Community Outreach Services will provide a complimentary lunch for the first 80 people who attend the program.

Collins has served since 2002 with the NCCDPHP, a division within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where he remains actively involved in implementing comprehensive tobacco control and prevention strategies throughout the United States and its territories. Having established a “Pilot Disparities Elimination Training Project,” Collins led 13 states and territories through a strategic planning process to identify and eliminate tobacco related disparities.

Prior to joining the CDC, Collins served as the director of the Office of Minority Health at the Texas Department of Health. His knowledge of minority health and health disparities led to the development of strategies to create healthy communities for the more than nine million ethnic and racial minorities in Texas.

A graduate of Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, Collins holds a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Texas at Tyler and currently is working toward a doctorate degree in political science at Clark Atlanta University.

Founded in 1905, Baylor College of Dentistry at Dallas is a component of the Texas A&M Health Science Center. HSC-BCD is a nationally recognized center for oral health sciences education, research, specialized patient care and continuing dental education.

The Texas A&M Health Science Center provides the state with health education, outreach and research. Its six components located in communities throughout Texas are Baylor College of Dentistry, the College of Medicine, the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, the Institute of Biosciences and Technology, the Irma Lerma Rangel College of Pharmacy, and the School of Rural Public Health.