Jack Gluckman – Biography

Written by Mr Jack Gluckman

Jack L. Gluckman, is Professor-Emeritus of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Cincinnati. He was born and raised in South Africa attending Grey High School in Port Elizabeth and medical school at the University of Cape Town, graduating in 1969. After completing his Otolaryngology residency in Johannesburg and Cape Town in 1973, he joined the faculty at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town and then subsequently entered private practice for a number of years in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

In 1977, he moved to Cincinnati for a Fellowship in head and neck oncologic surgery and remained on the faculty at the University of Cincinnati. Ascending through the academic ranks, he became a tenured professor in 1985 and subsequently chairman of the department of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery in 1991, a post he held through 2004. During his tenure as chairman, the department developed an international reputation for excellence in all aspects of otolaryngology and was consistently the highest ranked of any department in the region by U.S. News and World Report. During his more than 30 years on the faculty he served in many leadership roles in the College of Medicine and at the University Hospital, including Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs and the first Chief of the Medical Staff.

Nationally, he has been a member of multiple academic societies and has served on the board of directors of the American Academy of Otolaryngology; the American Board of Otolaryngology; the American Head and Neck Society; and the Council of the Triologic Society. Internationally he was regional Secretary for North America, Mexico and the Caribbean for the International Federation of Otolaryngologic Societies, a subsidiary of the World Health Organization (WHO).

He is also past-President of the American Academy of Otolaryngology- Head and Neck Surgery and the American Board of Otolaryngology as well as Vice-President of the Triologic Society. In 1993, the American Cancer Society awarded him a professorship of clinical oncology.

He has published 10 text books and over 290 scientific papers. He was editor of Current Opinions in Otolaryngology and was editor-in-chief of The Otolaryngology Recertification Study Guide. He has also been on the editorial boards of many journals.

During his career, Gluckman has received numerous awards including Presidential citations from the American Academy of Otolaryngology, the American Head and Neck Society, the Triologic Society, the American Broncho-Esophagologic Society and the Board of Governors of the Academy. He also received the Semon Medal from the University of London for academic achievement as well as an Honorary Fellowship from the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh for contributions to the field of cancer surgery. In 2008 he was the recipient of the Drake Medal, the highest award offered by the University of Cincinnati for his contributions to that institution.

He has lectured extensively throughout the world and was made an honorary member of the Australian Society of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery; the Brazilian Head and Neck Society; the South African Society of Otolaryngology and the Royal Society of Medicine. He was the guest of honor at the British Academic conference in Otolaryngology in 2003.

Of all his awards however, Gluckman is most proud of the local Health Care Hero award by the Cincinnati Business Courier for being the Best Clinical Practitioner in the area in 2005 and his 1989 induction into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society for his teaching of Medical students and residents.

Gluckman lives in Hyde Park with his wife Vickie and has 4 children, 2 stepchildren and 10 grandchildren.