Campus Events

11/2 Westminster & UCCD Present 'Himalayan Cataract Project-Restoring Sight & Economic Independence'

Geoffrey Tabin, M.D., discusses his work to eliminate blindness from the Himalayan region

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Krista DeAngelis (801) 832-2682

Oct. 2, 2009

SALT LAKE CITY – Westminster College and the Utah Council for Citizen Diplomacy present a lecture by social entrepreneur Geoffrey Tabin, M.D., on Himilayan Cataract Project—Restoring Sight and Economic Independence on Nov. 2, 2009, at 7:30 p.m. in the Vieve Gore Concert Hall in the Emma Eccles Jones Conservatory.

The global distribution of visual impairment shows that 90 percent of the blind live in the developing world. While many public health problems cannot be prevented, one striking exception is cataracts. After summiting Mt. Everest, then coming across a Dutch team performing cataract surgery on a woman who had been needlessly blind for three years, social entrepreneur Dr. Tabin vowed to work to eliminate all preventable and treatable blindness from the Himalayan region, hoping to restore economic independence to millions.

Dr. Tarbin is a professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences and director of the division of international ophthalmology at the John A. Moran Eye Center, University of Utah. In 1994, he co-founded, with Dr. Sanduk Ruit, the Himalayan Cataract Project, which strives to eradicate preventable and curable blindness in the Himalaya through high quality ophthalmic care, education and establishment of a world-class eye care infrastructure. Dr. Tabin is the fourth person in the world to reach the tallest peak on each of the seven continents.

All lectures are free and open to the public. For more information, visit http://www.westminstercollege.edu/culturalevents or www.utahdiplomacy.org.


WHO: Geoffrey Tabin, M.D., social entrepreneur

WHAT: Lecture on Himilayan Cataract Project—Restoring Sight and Economic Independence

WHERE: Westminster College
              Vieve Gore Concert Hall, Emma Eccles Jones Conservatory
              1840 South 1300 East
              Salt Lake City, UT

WHEN: Nov. 2, 2009
            7:30 p.m.


About the series:
The 2009-2010 American Express Weldon J. Taylor Executive Lecture Series, in partnership with the Utah Council for Citizen Diplomacy’s Ambassador John Price and Marcia Price World Affairs Lecture Series, is a learning-lecture experience that features distinguished speakers who are leading authorities in their field. Their expertise is relevant to the Bill and Vieve Gore School of Business and includes topics related to business management, leadership, social entrepreneurship and international issues.

About Westminster:
Westminster is a nationally recognized, comprehensive liberal arts college. With a broad array of graduate and undergraduate programs, Westminster is distinguished by its unique environment for learning. Westminster prepares students for success through active and engaged learning, real world experiences and its vibrant campus community. Westminster’s unique location, adjacent to the Rocky Mountains and to the dynamic city of Salt Lake, further enriches the college experience. For more information, visit http://www.westminstercollege.edu or follow WestminsterSLC or WestminsterPR on Twitter.