Dr. Walker is Professor and Past Chairman of the Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Department of Surgery, UT Southwestern Medical Center. He attended Texas A&M University, 1941-44, graduated from the Baylor College of Dentistry in 1947, practiced general dentistry in Waco, Texas, 1947-51, served in the U.S. Army Dental Corps during the Korean War, 1951-53, completed a year in the Graduate School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, 1953-54, completed a residency in oral surgery at the Parkland Memorial Hospital, Dallas, Texas, 1954-56, and was appointed to the Department of Surgery faculty at the UT Southwestern Medical School in 1956 to create a Division of Oral Surgery. The remainder of his career has been spent at the UT Southwestern.
After joining the faculty at UT Southwestern/Parkland Memorial Hospital, Dr. Walker created a residency which became of national and international renown. He continued as Chairman of the Division of OMS for 29 years, and he remains on the faculty to the present time as a Professor in the Division.
Dr. Walker's clinical interest centers around disorders of the temporomandibular joint, dental/facial deformities, pathology of the oral and maxillomandibular apparatus, and reconstruction of the jaws following ablation surgery.
Dr. Walker spent his early years in helping create a structure to residency and educational programs in OMS and the establishment of a regular assessment and accreditation process for these programs. He has served as President of almost all national and international organizations related to interests of OMS. These include the Southwest Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Foundation, the International Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, and the American Trauma Society. He currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the American Trauma Society. He has been generously recognized with distinctive awards related to service in behalf of OMS through the years. He is a Fellow of the Faculty of Dentistry of the Royal College of Surgeons, Ireland, 1973, and a Fellow in Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons, England, 1985. He has long maintained a particular interest in the furtherance of OMS education and service throughout South America. He has authored over 75 scientific articles related to OMS, edited two books, and contributed chapters to other surgical books.
Dr. Walker was a skilled baseball player in his youth and that athletic interest has carried over as a passion for golf which has led him to play the major golf courses of the world and play on the six continents of the globe. He is a recognized speaker both nationally and internationally. He has a high interest in the history of the International Association of Oral and Maxillofacial surgery. He remains as an active clinician and faculty member at the UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.
