University of California (UC), Berkeley School of Public Health alumnus Dr. Washington Burns will be honored with the 2007 Peter E. Haas Service Award for his work to improve the lives of low-income West Oakland residents. Dr. Burns volunteers seven days a week as executive director of the Prescott-Joseph Center for Community Enhancement, a nonprofit that offers free health, education and social services, as well as art classes and music lessons.

 

Dr. Burns is the founding board member and he is often credited with developing the center single-handedly.

 

In 2000, Dr. Burns retired from his post as lab director in the department of pathology at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco, where he worked for 34 years. Now he can often be found making lunches for children, lobbying for an asthma clinic, writing grants to shore up the center’s funding or staffing the concessions stand at a theatrical performance.

 

The Peter E. Haas Public Service Award will be presented to Dr. Burns on Saturday, April 12 during Cal Day, an annual day-long festival of events at UC Berkeley. He will also deliver a lecture, “Hope in the ’Hood” at 10:30 a.m. in the Morrison Reading Room, Doe Library.

 

The Peter E. Haas Service Award was established by Mrs. Peter E. Haas on the occasion of her husband’s 80^th birthday. Its purpose is to honor an alumnus of UC Berkeley who, through his or her personal efforts, has made a significant voluntary public contribution within the United States. The award is intended to recognize activity at the grassroots level and illustrate the impact that an individual can have on society through creative social change.