Elkins Park PA, (July 17, 2012) - Salus University Board of Trustees Chair Jo Surpin has announced that Rear Admiral Michael H. Mittelman, OD, MPH, will succeed Dr. Thomas L. Lewis as the University's next president. "With 32 years as a senior healthcare executive in the US Navy, Dr. Mittelman brings a wealth of experience to the position of president that includes clinical and research backgrounds," she said. "Along with his extensive knowledge of multiple healthcare disciplines and healthcare delivery to diverse populations, Dr. Mittelman has worked closely with all of the healthcare professions, focusing on the provision of quality care for the whole patient. I am certain that under Dr. Mittelman's leadership Salus will continue to prosper and become the nation's leading provider of high quality healthcare professionals - which is very much in keeping with the Salus mission and credo."
An active duty member of the Armed Forces, Dr. Mittelman will complete his service with the Navy before beginning as Salus University president sometime in late spring or early summer 2013. In order to accommodate this timing and to insure a smooth transition, Dr. Lewis has agreed to remain as president during this period. As president-designate, Dr. Mittelman will be in regular contact with Dr. Lewis and will be on the University's Elkins Park campus on occasion, when time and his service obligations permit.
Currently serving as Deputy Surgeon General of the Navy and Deputy Chief, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, Dr. Mittelman's naval service has included a variety of positions around the world:
- Staff optometrist and later, head of the Optometry Department, Naval Hospital Cherry Point, Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, NC
- Head of the Optometry Department, U.S. Naval Hospital, Rota, Spain
- Head of the Optometry Department, Naval Aerospace Medical Institute, Pensacola, Fla.
- Deputy Director of Research, Naval Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory, Pensacola, Fla.
- Head of the Recruit Medicine Department and Commanding Officer of Fleet Hospital Three, Naval Hospital, Great Lakes, Ill.
- Command, Naval Ophthalmic Support and Training Activity, Yorktown, Va.
- Command, U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa, Japan
- Executive Assistant to the Surgeon General of the Navy
- Special Assistant to the Surgeon General at Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps
- Deputy Chief of Staff, Human Resources, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery
- Director, Medical Resources, Plans and Policy Division (N931), Office of the Chief of Naval Operations
- Director of the Medical Service Corps
- Command Surgeon, U.S. Joint Forces Command and Medical Advisor to the Commander, Supreme Allied Command for Transformation (NATO)
- Command Surgeon, U.S. Pacific Command
Dr. Mittelman is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and a diplomate in its Section in Public Health and Environmental Vision. He is a member of the American Optometric Association and recipient of their 2012 Distinguished Service Award. He is past president of the Armed Forces Optometric Society and recipient of their Orion Award. Dr. Mittelman and his wife, Tanis, reside in the Washington, DC area and are the parents of three daughters.
About Salus University
Salus University was established by the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO) in July 2008. Now the University's founding college, PCO was founded in Philadelphia, PA in 1919, and has long been recognized as a leader in the education of health care professionals. Continuing that legacy, Salus University has three additional colleges: the George S. Osborne College of Audiology, the College of Education and Rehabilitation, and the College of Health Sciences. For information on the eleven accredited degree programs currently offered by Salus University, please go to: www.salus.edu
