I'm glad she has such a supportive family.
I'm glad she has such a supportive family.
Pakula Recognized for Distinguished Service
[Beloit College Magazine]
Dr. Lawrence Pakula'53, a distinguished pediatrician and associate professor of pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, was awarded the Distinguished Service Citation by the Alumni Association at 2003 Homecoming/Reunion festivities.
Pakula has cared for children since 1963 through a private practice he founded in Greenspring Station, Md., and by serving as an advocate for young people, especially those with behavioral, emotional, and learning problems.
“This year’s Distinguished Service Citation recipient exhibits all that Beloit College hopes of its alumni: that they become active citizens who leave a lasting and worthy impression by engaging themselves in a world beyond their own,” President Burris said when he presented Pakula with the award.
When he entered Beloit, Pakula already knew he wanted to be a doctor; however, a summer spent volunteering at a hospital in Israel—where he was by chance assigned to the pediatric ward—convinced him that working with children was what he wanted to do.
After completing medical school and residency, he discovered another path to helping kids. While serving as chief of pediatric services at a U.S. Air Force base hospital in the Philippines, he was responsible for the health needs of 10,000 dependent children. Pakula found that many of them, because of their circumstances, had behavioral and emotional problems which he wanted to be better prepared to address. He returned to Johns Hopkins (where he had completed his residency) for post-doctoral fellowships focusing on the psychiatric aspects of pediatrics and on evaluating the needs of children with disabilities.
He devotes about half his practice to working with children who have attention deficit disorder, mental retardation, cerebral palsy, and other developmental problems.
Pakula also has held a number of posts related to the field of pediatrics, including as a member of the scientific advisory board of The Jemicy School, a Maryland school for children with reading disorders, and as a pediatric consultant for special schools of the Baltimore County, Md., Board of Education. He also has served on the boards of several organizations that deal with the health and welfare of children.
In 1989, he was named Pediatrician of the Year and received a leadership award from the Maryland chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Pakula and his wife, Sheila Sutland Pakula, reside in Baltimore, Md. They have four children and eight grandchildren.