Dr Fong Receives President’s Medal At WestConn Commencement

DANBURY — Newtown resident Dr Jack S.C. Fong received the President’s Medal for Distinguished Service to the university and the community during Western Connecticut State University’s 107th commencement exercise on Sunday, May 22, on the Westside campus.

Dr Fong is chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at Danbury Hospital. He also serves the hospital as chief of the Children with Special Health Care Needs Clinic and as an attending physician. Additionally, he is the attending physician for Green Chimneys Children’s Services, and an associate clinical professor of pediatrics at the Yale University School of Medicine.

“As a humanitarian, caregiver, community leader — your devotion to education, passion for the promotion of medical research, and commitment to the improvement of health care access,  particularly for children — has made you the kind of physician many aspire to, but few become,” the proclamation read by university President Dr James W. Schmotter said.

 “For more than four decades, you have distinguished yourself as a dedicated leader in, advocate for, and mentor of, scientific study for the advancement of knowledge and the betterment of all,” Dr Schmotter said in presenting the award.

Dr Fong’s service to the greater Danbury area community spans more than two decades. He has served as a board member or in a leadership role for numerous civic and community groups, including Fairfield County Safe Kids, Dream Come True, Family Voices of Connecticut, the Wellness on Wheels Program, the Special Olympics, and Project Proceed. He is a member or advisor to many other organizations, including the Committee on Children with Disabilities, the New Fairfield Public Schools, the Continuing Medical Education Committee of the Connecticut State Medical Society, and the Institutional Review Board at Danbury Hospital.

In his affiliation with Western Connecticut State University, Dr Fong has been a valued member of the Institutional Review Board, a partner in research with faculty and students, and a wise and trusted student mentor. He is a strong supporter of the university and the community and works tirelessly to promote quality education and health care for the citizens of the greater Danbury community, the proclamation said.

Dr Fong received his bachelor’s, master’s, doctor of medicine, and master of surgery degrees at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. He is a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, with the specialty of pediatrics. Dr Fong is a fellow in the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Canadian Paediatric Society. He also is a member of the American College of Physician Executives, the American Association of Immunologists, the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, the American Federation for Clinical Research, and the New York Academy of Sciences.