Every year at the start of the fall semester there is an air of excitement on campus, as new students arrive and become acclimated. I, too, am excited to see them become focused as they embark on their professional education and future careers.
At Salus, we are actively engaged in advocacy and teach our students to practice within the broadest scope of their individual professions while also understanding the importance of legislative regulations. Most recently, the Food and Drug Administration issued its final rule establishing the new device category of over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids for use by adults in an effort to reduce the cost of these devices and expand availability.
Now effective, OTC hearing aids can be purchased in person, by mail, or online, without a requirement to involve licensed healthcare professionals, such as physicians, audiologists, or hearing instrument specialists. From a pure public health perspective, this ruling expands hearing aid access and utilization
for patients who need but are reluctant to obtain hearing aids due to cost. For the practicing professional, however, we recognize this ruling would cause a disruption in service models with a high dependence on devices.
Our experts in the Osborne College of Audiology (OCA) stress that the FDA did not comment on the importance or value of professional services provided by audiologists. The FDA recommends consumers consult with professionals in several circumstances, including the diagnosis of hearing impairment and the fitting and continued use of OTC hearing aids. This is why I stress that all of our faculty and alumni work within state and national organizations to further their respective professions and keep pace with national trends within the rapidly expanding areas of healthcare delivery.
The combined issue of the alumni magazine and annual report will showcase a number of exciting activities including the completion of the stateof-the-art facilities for our new Orthotics and Prosthetics (O&P) program; a historical perspective of our Department
of International and Continuing Education (DICE); a unique interdisciplinary collaboration with a local museum; and more.
As landmark achievements go, congratulations are also in order for our Occupational Therapy (OT) program as we celebrate its 10th anniversary. In addition, our Orientation and Mobility (O&M) and Vision Rehabilitation Therapy (VRT) programs are celebrating 30 years of approval from the Department of Education. We are so proud to be home to these nationally distinguished programs!
In 2023, look for news involving major renovations to the first floor of the South building designed to enhance student life, including the cafeteria and a new student lounge on our Elkins Park campus and for ways you can help to realize this through your generous contributions.
Thank you for everything you do to support the mission of Salus University, our community and your professions.
With best wishes of the season and the New Year to each of you.
Michael H. Mittelman, OD ’80, MPH, MBA, FAAO, FACHESalus University launched its Orthotics and Prosthetics (O&P) program in the fall of 2022 with the goal of building an outstanding program that’s different from any other in the country. Now Salus has the 14th O&P program in the United States and is one of only three in the northeast region.
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Earlier today, the Occupational Therapy department inducted the Class of 2023 Phi Theta Epsilon (PTE) cohort. The national honor society for occupational therapy graduate education, PTE’s mission is to promote research and scholarship among occupational therapy students.
#salusuniversity #occupationaltherapy #studentlife
September 15, 2022
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Salus University was selected as one of the 2022 Great Colleges to Work For® by ModernThink, with special designation as an Honor Roll institution, by excelling in all ten categories!
#salusuniversity #highereducation #recognition
September 14, 2022
Join us in welcoming our new PA students to Salus!
#salusuniversity #physicianassistant #gradschool #healthscience
August 30, 2022
Salus University’s first Adaptive Sports Day can be summed up in two words: “Community” and “Connectivity.”
The daylong event welcomed community members with limb loss or orthotic bracing to participate in a host of activities.
#salusuniversity #orthotics #prosthetics #communityoutreach
June 30, 2022
“I chose Salus because I wanted to attend a school that promotes diversity and has a supportive environment.”
#salusuniversity #ichosesalus #optometry
November 18, 2022
Congratulations to Hannah Perloff ’23SLP, who has been selected to receive the Ida Foreman Fleisher Fund Scholarship from the Jewish Federation of Philadelphia!
#salusuniversity #speechlanguagepathology #scholarship
September 6, 2022
Physician Assistant students practiced their skills during today’s pediatric lab.
#salusuniversity #physicianassistant #studentlife #pediatrics
July 14, 2022
PUBLISHED BY SALUS UNIVERSITY
Michael H. Mittelman, OD ’80, MPH, MBA, FAAO, FACHE President
Jacqueline Patterson, MPA Vice President, Institutional Advancement and Community Relations
Check out our previous Post-bacc students who are living their best lives: starting a degree program at Salus!
#salusuniversity #studentlife #postbacc
#healthscience
Don’t forget to RSVP for the ceremonial ribbon cutting on August 15! Can’t make it? Be sure to tune in on Facebook/Instagram
Live!
#salusuniversity #orthotics #prosthetics
August 3, 2022
Congratulations to Lilliana Geraldes ’24AUD who was recently selected by ASHA to receive the Audiology/Hearing Science Research Travel Award (ARTA) to attend the 2022 ASHA Convention!
#salusuniversity #lowvision #BLVS #healthsciences #quickfacts
August 4, 2022
August 17, 2022
The Department of International and Continuing Education provided audiology and speech-language pathology students from Chung Shan Medical University with Philly-style welcome bags.
#salusuniversity #audiology
#speechlanguagepathology
#continuingeducation
June 29, 2022
“Everything we as healthcare professionals are allowed to do, such as writing prescriptions, ordering labs, and wearing a stethoscope is because someone before us fought for it.”
#salusuniversity #physicianassistant
#studentlife
October 12, 2022
“O&P is a very sought after profession and being a part of the class at Salus gives me the chance to enter a program that will teach me everything I need in order to grow and achieve the future I want in the field,” says Amber Lewis ’25O&P.
#salusuniversity #ichosesalus #orthotics
#prosthetics
August 18, 2022
MANAGING EDITOR
Alexis R. Abate, MA Director, Communications
EDITOR Michael E. Morsch Publications Coordinator & Staff Writer
CONTRIBUTORS
Alexis Abate, Caren Cremen, Hope Daluisio, Michael Mittelman, Michael Morsch, Juliana Mosley-Williams, PhD
EDITORIAL ASSISTANCE
Alexis Abate, Caren Cremen, Hope Daluisio, Savanna Hailu, Anna Intartaglia, Bernadette McNulty, Juliana Mosley-Williams
DESIGN
Roni Lagin & Co.
PHOTOGRAPHY
Ryan Brandenberg, Brandywine River Museum, Hope Daluisio, Anna Intartaglia, Dan Johnson, PCO/Salus Archives, Jack Ramsdale
Salus University Alumni Magazine is published bi-annually for alumni, staff, faculty, parents and friends. Please send comments, contributions and address changes to:
Office of Institutional Advancement Salus University
8360 Old York Road Elkins Park, PA 19027
215.780.1393
alumni@salus.edu
www.salus.edu
Salus University by choice, declares and reaffirms its policy of complying with federal and state legislation and does not in any way discriminate in education programs, employment or in service to the public on the basis of race, color, creed or religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, physical or mental disabilities, or veteran status. In addition, the University complies with federal regulations issued under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Questions concerning any of the above policies should be addressed to: Maura Keenan, Affirmative Action Officer, Salus University, 8360 Old York Road, Elkins Park, PA 19027 at 215.780.1267.
The Salus University Board of Trustees toured the new Orthotics and Prosthetics lab after their fall meeting at the Elkins Park, Pennsylvania campus.
SEATED FROM LEFT TO RIGHT:
Michele Palos-Samsi, PA-C; Carolyn Forcina; Joyce Koh, JD; chair Rebecca Delia, MS; Shannon Tornoe; and treasurer Emily Turner, CFA.
STANDING MIDDLE ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT:
Sarah Mitchell, JD; faculty representative Jamie Neiman, OD ’01, Resident ’02; Dana Mattingly, MHA; president Michael Mittelman, OD ’80, MPH, MBA, FAAO, FACHE; immediate past chair Jo Surpin, MA.
STANDING BACK ROW, LEFT TO RIGHT:
Craig Cassey, OD ’86; Reade Fahs, MBA; student representative Chase Sereno, ’24AUD; Keith Ignotz, MBA; Derrick Artis, OD ’89; Thomas Beeman, PhD; William McCune, MPH; Christopher Dezzi, MBA; Daniel Liberman, JD.
Not present for the photo were board members Daniel Abramowicz, PhD, and Kate Kinslow, CRNA, EdD, MBA.
To understand the continuing success of the University’s Department of International and Continuing Education (DICE), one has to look at the history of the institution and the foundation on which it was established.
Albert Fitch, OD, FAAO, the founder and first president of what was, in 1919, the Pennsylvania State College of Optometry (PSCO), laid the strategic underpinnings for the eventual success of international programs by establishing a curriculum with a biomedical emphasis, which in turn would guide all other optometry programs in the United States.
“The reality is that were it not for the institution’s emphasis on biomedicine, pharmacology and all of the biological
sciences, none of this would have happened,” said Anthony Di Stefano, OD ’73, MEd, PhD, FAAO, vice president emeritus of Salus. “When Dr. Fitch set up the College, he said he wanted it on par with medicine and dentistry. That pretty much led to his philosophy that we should be teaching the biological sciences, because medicine and dentistry were rooted in biological sciences.”
As early as the 1930s, PSCO was teaching pharmacology because Dr. Fitch believed optometrists needed to understand drugs and their impact on vision and the entire body to be true health professionals.
With the expansion of optometry’s scope of practice in the early 1970s, there was an urgent need for postgraduate education in the use of diagnostic
pharmaceutical agents (DPAs) and therapeutic pharmaceutical agents (TPAs) — and the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO), which changed names in 1964, was uniquely prepared to deliver such programs across the country because of its experience with biomedical and pharmaceutical training.
THIS IS PART 1 OF A TWO-PART SERIES ON THE HISTORY AND EVOLUTION OF SALUS UNIVERSITY’S CURRENT DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL AND CONTINUING EDUCATION (DICE).
William Monaco, OD, PhD, FAAO, right, taught for many years in the PCO international Master of Clinical Optometry (MSCO) degree program.
Leadership played a critical role at the time. Norman Wallis, OD, PhD, DSc (Hon.) ’90, FAAO, was PCO’s third president — a position he held from 1972 to 1979; and according to Dr. Di Stefano, it was Dr. Wallis, Thomas Lewis, OD ’70, PhD, FAAO (PCO/Salus president from 1989 through 2013), and Louis Catania, OD ’69, FAAO, DSc, at the forefront of advancing the profession.
“When Norm became president in 1972, he didn’t come in and turn the place upside down and reject the heritage of the institution. He seized that biomedical heritage and built upon it,” said Dr. Di Stefano. “When the laws were changed, he and Drs. Lewis, Catania and others were right in the middle of it.”
“Once Spain kicked in and once we received state approval to award the Master of Science degree in Clinical Optometry, we were equipped to give any country and any optometrist, the kind of training they were seeking,” said Dr. Di Stefano.
Dr. Catania would go on to become an internationally renowned lecturer on optometry’s role in the diagnosis and treatment of anterior segment diseases. He was a PCO faculty member until 1995, serving as an associate professor and also director of the Center for Continuing and Post Graduate Education (now called DICE). As the first director of what was then called the Center for International Studies, Dr. Catania played a pivotal role in expanding the College’s educational scope worldwide.
Healthcare leaders in other countries noticed that PCO was at the forefront in the profession and started to call on the institution for the development of similar programs. Spain was the first country that showed interest and sparked PCO’s expansion into new degree programs in clinical optometry.
In the 1990s, international demand grew even more which led to the delivery of both non-degree and degree programs. This growth included expansion throughout Europe and the Middle East. A strategic plan for advancing the profession of optometry worldwide was developed by then-president Dr. Lewis; Dr. Di Stefano, who was the dean of PCO at the time; and Dr. Catania. In 1994, Abraham “Avi” Gonen, OD ’73, joined PCO as the director of Middle East/European Programs to further develop these initiatives.
Dr. Gonen did not believe PCO and eventually Salus University should stay in each country and do this job forever: it was imperative to make sure local faculty in each country were trained to take over responsibilities. In Norway, for example, eight Master of Science in Clinical Optometry (MSCO) degree program cohorts were taught over the course of 16 years. Following the ninth course, Norway became independent in offering its own MSCO degree program. Also joining PCO in the 1990s was Melissa Padilla, MPH ’13, who held several leadership positions throughout her 24-year career at PCO/Salus, including serving as director of what was then called Professional Studies and International programs.
When PCO launched its first such
venture it was with the Colegio Nacional de Ópticos-Optometristas (CNOO). This initial on-campus initiative greatly benefitted from Padilla’s bilingual skills. In 1997, when PCO became the international headquarters of the World Council of Optometry (WCO), Padilla stepped up and assumed the role of director of Communications and Professional Service. Her leadership skills and passion for global public health causes were rewarded by her appointment as the WCO executive director in 2005. Her responsibilities in these roles spanned across numerous accomplishments including the implementation of global initiatives such as the World Conferences on Optometric Education (WCOE) and the historical World Conference on Optometric Globalization (WCOG).
According to Dr. Di Stefano, the rest of the world was coming to PCO because word spread to other countries about the profession of optometry and they wanted to emulate PCO. Other countries wanted more biological sciences because they wanted to have better optometrists.
“Our mission at PCO and Salus has always been to advance its professions to better serve patients and populations,” said Dr. Di Stefano. “Other countries wanted to expand their services so they could do more for their patients.”
NEXT: IN PART 2, WE SPEAK WITH MELISSA VITEK, OD ’95, FAAO, DEAN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL AND CONTINUING EDUCATION (DICE) FOR SALUS, ABOUT HOW DICE HAS CONTINUED TO EVOLVE, EXPAND AND INNOVATE TO REACH MORE DIVERSE AUDIENCES.
As Linda Casser, OD, FAAO, FNAP, was packing up her office on her last day at Salus University — taking plaques off the wall and reviewing her files — she had a chance to reflect on her 44-year career in academia. While she was placing these items in boxes, one plaque she removed from the wall gave her pause. It was an award for Clinical Educator of the Year in 1984 that she received from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry’s (PCO) Student Council.
“That was the first award I was fortunate enough to receive as a faculty member,” said Dr. Casser, who was chief of Primary Care Module 4 at The Eye Institute (TEI) back then.
“That meant so much. After I finished my residency in Rochester, New York, under the leadership and mentorship of Louis J. Catania, OD ’69, FAAO, DSc, my first faculty position was at PCO,” said Dr. Casser.
It was also the year she left Pennsylvania to take a position as clinic director
at her alma mater, Indiana University. But it wasn’t the last time she would serve at PCO and Salus. Dr. Casser would return to Salus in 2009 and undertake several roles, before officially retiring on August 16, 2022.
She was a faculty member at the Indiana University School of Optometry for 13 years, achieving the rank of associate professor with tenure and also serving as the director of the Indianapolis Eye Care Center. In 1997, Dr. Casser was hired at the Pacific University College
of Optometry in Forest Grove, Oregon, serving as associate dean for academic programs and professor through 2005.
In 2006, Dr. Casser joined the National Board of Examiners in Optometry (NBEO) as associate executive director of clinical examinations. But almost 25 years to the day in which she left PCO, she returned as the first female dean of PCO — and the first dean after Salus University was established — serving in that capacity through 2013. The following year, Dr. Casser became interim director of education for the University’s Physician Assistant (PA) Studies program.
She ended her second stint at Salus as a professor at PCO and coordinator of Interprofessional Education and retired upon being granted professor emeritus status by the University’s Board of Trustees, which allows her to continue her association with the University.
“I’ve had 10 years of involvement in interprofessional education at Salus and that’s been a wonderful opportunity
to see the healthcare world beyond optometry,” said Dr. Casser. “To learn more about our on-campus colleagues in the other professions, to meet them at a deeper personal level but also to learn more fully about what they do and how they contribute to client and patient care has been very enriching.”
Those leadership roles and her chance to help develop interprofessional opportunities while at PCO/Salus are among the accomplishments in which she takes pride. In addition, Dr. Casser was on the front end of gender issues of her generation, at a time when more women were entering the profession. She also set high expectations for her students. “I’ve always held myself and my students to a standard of excellence. To me, excellence is the minimum that we all should aspire to. As a result, not unknown to me, sometimes I had the reputation of being a little bit demanding,” she said. “I do hope for quality in society, I hope for each of us as healthcare providers to be the best that we can
be for patients who entrust their care to us. That’s another reason why I so greatly appreciated receiving the 1984 award from PCO students — the plaque reads ’for exemplifying the highest standards of teaching and clinical excellence.’”
For now though, she plans to spend her retirement time with family and friends, traveling and volunteering her time, both within the profession and outside of it.
“I also want to explore volunteer roles outside of optometry. I’m not sure yet what that will be, but I want to find and identify groups that are doing good work to help people in a positive way in the community,” she said.
Dr. Casser added that her 44 years in optometric education and administration have been rewarding, stimulating, and the source of deep and lasting collaborations and friendships.
“I am very proud that the first and final faculty positions of my career have been at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry and Salus University,” she said.
I’ve had 10 years of involvement in interprofessional education at Salus and that’s been a wonderful opportunity to see the healthcare world beyond optometry.”
LINDA CASSER, OD, FAAO, FNAP
Dr. Linda Casser Officially Retires After 44-Year Career
Fern Silverman, EdD, OTR/L, OT associate professor and assistant director of the Doctoral Program in Occupational Therapy (OTD), along with fellow OT associate professor, Andrea Tyszka, OTD, MS, OTR/L, SIPT, worked with The Franklin Institute and presented at conferences which earned them the reputation of being museum accessibility consultants.
That foundation and reputation led to a partnership, now five years in the making, between Salus and Brandywine River Museum of Art in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, to create accessible programming at the museum for visitors with autism and sensory-processing disorders.
Over this span of time, the project has blossomed into an interdisciplinary col-
laboration that includes not only the OT department, but the Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) and Blindness and Low Vision Studies (BLVS) departments at the University.
“I think it’s probably one of the first unique partnerships where it kind of grew organically, from department to department,” said Dr. Tyszka. “And, now we have three different professions represented at one local museum that are working on accessibility initiatives.”
The Brandywine River Museum of Art has long been committed to providing opportunities for families in the community to engage with its art collection. However, its successful efforts to expand programs to reach broad family audiences has resulted in large attendance numbers which can create an environ-
ment that is challenging to visitors with sensitivities to noise and crowds.
“By working with representatives from the neurodiverse community and forming an advisory committee, the museum learned that in this case it was less helpful to focus on making our existing events more inclusive and more effective to create special opportunities for relaxed and adapted experiences,” said Laura Westmoreland, former associate educator of adult and community programs at the museum. “Without opportunities like these, some members of the community may not be able to access the collection and programs that the Brandywine offers.”
One of the programs developed is called “Sensory-Friendly Saturdays,” which includes creating “hands-on”
When the University’s Occupational Therapy (OT) department was in its infancy, it became known for helping create programs for museums focused on accessibility.
opportunities in the galleries so visitors can engage in artwork in ways other than just viewing and reading labels.
“For kids with learning disabilities, especially those with autism, that doesn’t make sense to them. They don’t engage just visually,” said Dr. Tyszka. “For example, there is a really famous river painting, and it had some texture to it.
As a grown adult it took everything I had not to walk up and touch this painting. So Laura had re-created the painting into 3-D maps the children that were in front of the painting could touch.”
Salus OT and SLP students volunteer their time and are stationed with museum docents at the adapted exhibits, ostensibly so they can be there
to help bridge the gap and help interact with the children in a developmentally appropriate way, according to Dr. Tyszka.
“We realized that for kids on the autism spectrum, it’s not just sensory issues, but kids have trouble communicating,” she said. “So we thought it would be great to invite some of the SLP students out to help during these events.”
For Salus student Sara Herman ’23SLP the program gives her a chance to experience working with the autism population and also helps her understand what activities work well and what behaviors of her own are appropriate when working with the children.
“I found all the children to be so different in their expressions and interests; it was really fun to see such a wide variety,” said Herman. “It’s always important to remember that not everyone with sensory deficits presents the same way, and I think each activity that the Brandywine staff prepared did a really nice job catering to that fact.”
In early 2022, Westmoreland met with faculty from the Salus BLVS department to share another Brandywine initiative, that of prototyping a digital guide intended to be accessible and useful for blind and low vision users.
The guide provides all of the text found in a gallery (wall panels and labels for individual works of art) in a digital format that can be used with screen readers as well as in recorded audio, plus extended visual descriptions of each work of art.
Representatives from the BLVS program helped connect the museum with screen reader users who the museum hired to test the prototype and provide feedback about how to make it more accessible and valuable to visitors, Westmoreland said. Overall, the partnership between Salus and Brandywine is a win-win for everybody involved.
“It’s been nice to watch it over the past five years grow slowly into what it’s become — this multidisciplinary collaboration,” said Dr. Tyszka.
Brandywine River Museum Program Partnership for Neurodiverse Families
During the construction of the new Orthotics and Prosthetics (O&P) lab in the spring and summer months of 2022, Salus University president Michael H. Mittelman, OD ’80, MPH, MBA, FAAO, FACHE, would walk through the area every week to watch the progress.
The area being transformed into O&P labs was the same space that had housed Dr. Mittelman’s office on the Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, campus for many years. But moving his desk did nothing to dampen his enthusiasm and anticipation for the University’s newest program expansion.
“I couldn’t wait to hear all those machines going and to watch the dust fly a little bit,” he said. “That told me we were actually moving forward with this.”
And now O&P is a reality at Salus. The new lab was ready to go when the first cohort of students showed up for the fall 2022 semester.
It was the culmination of years of planning and development and the hard work of a lot of people. But now Salus has the 14th O&P program in the United States and is one of only three in the northeast portion of the country.
Discussions on offering an O&P program initially started in 2018. University officials completed a market analysis, looking at competition and healthcare demands before settling on O&P.
“Unfortunately, because of the diabetic epidemic that we have in the country today and because one of the complications for diabetics is amputations, we realized that there is going to be a great demand for people who make prosthetics and orthotics,” said Dr. Mittelman.
Not only that, but O&P fit in perfectly with the mission at Salus. All of the University’s programs have a rehabilitation aspect to them, and O&P is no different.
Initially, administration officials started their research into O&P by doing site visits to the top three O&P schools in the nation — Baylor University in Texas, Loma Linda University Medical Center in
California and Northwestern University in Illinois.
It was at Northwestern that the Salus contingent met the O&P program director, J. Chad Duncan, PhD, CRC, CPO, who impressed administration officials with his experience and ability to start and develop O&P programs. He was the guy they wanted to build the new Salus program.
“We consequently persuaded him to come our way. It took some doing, but we’re very lucky and happy to have him here,” said Dr. Mittelman.
Dr. Duncan started his new role at Salus in September 2021.
In addition, Salus also received a $750,000 Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to
“When the accreditors came and looked at us, they saw exactly that, not only in the lab design but in the curricula design,” said Dr. Mittelman. “They left telling us that they felt that this program was going to be the one that leads the entire profession to its next step of excellence.”
Antonio Butler ’25O&P comes from a family of orthotists and prosthetists. His father, Larry Butler, has been a practicing O&P in Memphis, Tennessee for more than 20 years.
So it seemed like a natural progression for Butler when he was accepted into the inaugural cohort for Salus University’s Orthotics and Prosthetics program.
“I’ve been in the field almost since I was born, in the lab setting, the clinical setting. It was easy to figure out what I wanted to do professionally,” said Butler, who earned an undergraduate degree in Exercise Science from the University of Memphis. “It hasn’t really hit me, but I’m excited regardless, even if I was in the 100th class. To be part of the first class though, it’s a piece of history.”
When the accreditors came and looked at us, they saw exactly that, not only in the lab design but in the curricula design.”
MICHAEL H. MITTELMAN, OD ’80, MPH, MBA, FAAO, FACHE
Students and faculty utilizing spaces within the lab including The Clinical Advancement Room, The Tinker Lab, and The Machine Shop.
There are many ways Salus students become successful. But an important part of the equation is assistance from those who help pave the way, in the form of scholarships and other financial support, that gives Salus students an advantage when they enter the professional world. Here are some of the ways individuals have generously chosen to support Salus with contributions that will help future generations of students:
While walking his dog the day after his wife Naomi Sussman, MS ’12, had passed away, among the many things going through the mind of a devastated Marc Meketon was what would be the best way to celebrate her life.
Sussman loved Salus University and earned her Master’s in Low Vision Rehabilitation in 2012 and then followed that up with an Orientation and Mobility (O&M) certificate.
And, that’s how the idea of the Naomi Sussman Scholarship was established. The Meketon/Sussman family decided that rather than having just a one-time scholarship award, an annual $1,000 scholarship awarded to a Salus student would be even better.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/SUSSMANSCHOLARSHIP
This memorializes her, which I thought was a very powerful thing. Our family really hopes it does assist students in low vision and maybe O&M to get through the program and succeed.”
MARC MEKETON, HUSBAND
well
It is for these reasons that Salus University has chosen to honor the Nymans for these contributions. Please join us in saying thank you to these exceptional clinical educators by making a meaningful gift toward our goal of $100,000. All proceeds will be used to create a scholarship for PCO students with input from both Drs. Nyman and the dean’s office.
READ MORE AND MAKE A CONTRIBUTION AT SALUS.EDU/NYMAN
Their teaching style, which was respectful and benevolent, along with their encyclopedic knowledge base and superb clinical skills, made these men effective teachers and clinical mentors.”
SUSAN OLESZEWSKI, OD ’76The contributions Drs. Jeffrey and Neal Nyman have made to the advancement of both optometric education and the profession, as as the careers of more than 7,000 former students and residents, cannot be overstated.
The Presidential Medal of Honor is bestowed upon those who have made significant contributions to their profession and for their service to Salus University.
“Drs. Johnson, Cleaver and Glover encompass and continuously exceed said contribution to the optometric profession as a whole as they’ve changed the way people see optometry eternally. The Drs. reflect PCO/Salus University in the highest regard and often pay homage to their alma mater for molding them into the optometrists they are today.”
— LAUREN PRICE, BLACK EYECARE PERSPECTIVE PRE-OPTOMETRY CLUB PRESIDENT IN HER NOMINATION LETTER TO THE COMMITTEE
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/BEPPREZMETAL22
“It is an honor to be recognized by Salus/PCO, an institution that helped shape my career by the support and opportunities afforded to me as a young African on scholarship many years ago. Such awards are not an expression of individual achievement only but a celebration of the collective efforts of countless colleagues who have walked with me on the path to eliminate the world of poor vision due to uncorrected refractive error. At times like this, I remember with gratitude Prof. Brien Holden and give thanks for the support and encouragement of my colleagues in OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation.”
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/KOVINNAIDOOPREZMEDAL22
“Deep down Melissa always saw herself as a teacher and she received outstanding student reviews for her course. All her organizational, intellectual, communication, public health and leadership skills finally came together – and she was so proud, as were her colleagues at Salus.”
— ANTHONY F. DI STEFANO, OD ’73, MED, MPH, FAAO, FCOPTOM (HON), EMERITUS VICE PRESIDENT OF ACADEMIC AFFAIRS.READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/PADILLAMEDAL22
Presidential Medal of Honor Awardees
“I just felt like I was on the cusp of something that was going to be great for our profession going forward. You don’t always make the right decisions, none of us do. But it (attending PCO) was the right decision for me.”
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/MICHAELDEPAOLISMEDAL22
“I feel like I have had a successful career, one that I am very proud of. To me, this is a culmination of all of the things I have been honored with throughout my career, and I am thankful for Salus recognizing my work both in the optometric field and in my community.”
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/NEILDRAISIN
“I have knowledge of some of the previous medal recipients and it’s quite an accomplished group. I feel humbled to be included.”
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/BITTELMEDAL22
Katherine Alstrin, EdD TVI, COMS, assistant professor, Blindness and Low Vision Studies (BLVS)
Darrel Asbury, assistant director, Learning Technology
Jennifer Bergstrom, assistant professor, Speech-Language Pathology (SLP)
Maria Boka, MS, PA-C, assistant professor, Physician Assistant (PA) Studies
Anthony Boyd, OD, Resident ’22, instructor, Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO)
Kevin Cianfrani, MSOT ’15, lab manager, Orthotics and Prosthetics (O&P)
Rachael Condon, MS, CCC-SLP, CDP, clinical educator, SLP
Mark D’Amore, associate director, Clinical Technology
Kristine Goldynia, SLPD, CCC-SLP, clinical educator, SLP
Emily Jett, MA, CCC-SLP, clinical educator, SLP
Stephanie Leburg, OD ’16, Resident ’17, FAAO, primary care chief, PCO
Elizabeth Marunde, OD, Resident ’22, instructor, PCO
Virginia Muthard, CPO/L, FAAOP, instructor, O&P
Betsy O’Donnell, MS ’86, COMS, CLVT, TVI, clinical educator, Orientation and Mobility (O&M)
Jennifer Pilchman, MS, PA-C, assistant professor, PA
Julie Quinlan, MPO, MS, CPO, ATC, instructor, O&P
Caitlin Raymond, MS 17, CCC-SLP, clinical educator, SLP
Aaron Roman, AuD, CCC-A, FAAA, assistant professor, Osborne College of Audiology (OCA)
Anne Ruckdeschel, MA, CCC-SLP, CBIS, instructor, SLP
Kelly Snyder, MA, CCC-SLP, clinical educator, SLP
Lauren White, OD ’19, instructor, PCO
Deanna Yoder-Black, SLPD, CCC-SLP, assistant professor, SLP
Several of the University’s professions were among the Top 100 jobs in the nation for 2022 as ranked by the U.S. News and World Report. physician assistant checked in as number three, followed by speech-language pathologist at number 10, occupational therapist at number 31, optometrist at number 37, audiologist at number 79 and the University’s newest program — orthotist and prosthetist — that launched this fall entered in at number 56.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/TOPJOBS2022
Dana L. Mattingly, RN, executive director of clinical compliance in the Aetna/CVS healthcare business unit based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, joined the University’s Board of Trustees in January 2022.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/DANAMATTINGLYBOT
Chase Sereno ’24AUD is the current student member on the Board of Trustees. He serves the board by providing student engagement reports and advocating for students’ needs, interests and concerns at Board meetings. Sean Lewis, ’23OD, will be stepping in as the next student member on the Board of Trustees.
Salus and The Eye Institute (TEI) entered into a new partnership with the State Correctional Institution (SCI) at Cambridge Springs in Crawford County,
Pennsylvania to custom make eyeglasses for children served by the University’s Looking Out for Kids school vision programs.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/SCIPARTNERSHIP
In an effort to provide faculty and staff with a better understanding and to offer advice on how to be an effective ally to the LGBTQ+ community, Salus University’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) committee along with the Human Resources department hosted the inaugural DEI Educates! The virtual event featured Stan Kimer, president of Total Engagement Consulting, which specializes in diversity management and organizational effectiveness. DEI Educates will be returning in the spring as Stan Kimer hosts safe spaces training.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/DEISTANKIMER
The Dean’s Winterfest, which has been on hiatus since the pandemic started, was changed to the Dean’s Springfest for 2022 but accomplished the same goal as always: spending time together face-toface and bringing students and the Salus community together.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/SPRINGFEST2022
Spring commencement was once again back in person at the Kimmel Center for Performing Arts in Philadelphia. The keynote speaker was Admiral Michelle J. Howard, the first African American woman to command a ship in the U.S. Navy. Graduate, Ivey Woodard, OD ’22, was the third person in per family, along with her brother Robert Woodard, OD ’16 and father Reid Woodard, OD ’96, to graduate from PCO/Salus.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/KIMMELCOMMENCEMENT2022
The keynote speaker for the 125th commencement in October was Thomas R. Cullison, RADM, MC, USN (retired), senior associate at the Global Health Policy Center of the Center for Strategic and International Studies focusing on Department of Defense contributions to United States health security.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/FALL22COMMENCEMENT
The Department of International and Continuing Education (DICE), in collaboration with OCA and SLP, hosted a group of students from Chung Shan Medical University (CSMU) in Taichung, Taiwan, who spent most of July on the University’s Elkins Park, Pennsylvania campus, being introduced to health science programs.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/TAIWANSTUDENTS2022
Students of the University of Oulu, in Finland, spent two weeks on the University’s campus training in primary eye care. The Finnish optometrists are pursuing their master’s degrees at Oulu University and participating in this coursework helps them work toward that goal.
READ MORE AT
SALUS.EDU/FINNISHSTUDENTS2022
OCA/SLP/Salus hosted open houses on July 11, 2022 and October 1, 2022 for prospective students wanting to study communication sciences and disorders — audiology and speech-language pathology respectively. The half-day event featured a campus tour, lab demonstrations, tips from the Office of Admissions and a question-and-answer session with both SLP and OCA faculty members.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/COMMSCIENCESOPENHOUSE
At the annual Invest Philly event, President Mittelman spoke on a panel entitled “Balancing Act: Aligning education with economic development and student demands” which discussed the steps higher education institutions will take and have been taking during one of the most transformative time periods for the industry.
working as the externship liaison for PCO/Salus University’s Accelerated Doctor of Optometry Scholars program. So, when Satya Verma, OD ’75, FAAO, DPNAP, Diplomate, the longtime director of the externship program retired after 50 years, Dr. Brackley was ready to step into those big shoes.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/RBRACKLEYPROMOTED
In March, Ukrainian Salus students collaborated in an effort to collect donations for their home country. Donations of non-perishable food, first-aid supplies, medicines and various hygiene products were collected on the University’s Elkins Park, Pennsylvania campus for the people of Ukraine. Donated items were taken to the Ukrainian Cultural Center in neighboring Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, which co-organized the effort. Volunteers there were packing boxes and shipping them over to Poland via Meest, a Ukrainian shipping company. A team from Poland then coordinated transport to several regions in Ukraine.
READ MORE AT
SALUS.EDU/UKRSTUDENTSRAISEAWARENESS
For the past five years, Rachel Brackley, OD ’09, Resident ’10, FAAO, has been
Benjamin Gustin ’23OD was awarded the CooperVision 2022 Best Practices Student Scholarship, offered to outstanding third-year optometry students. He was honored as one of this year’s three Best Practices student recipients.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/BGUTSINSCHOLARSHIP
Nia Phillips ’23OD, was awarded the 2022 Rick Bay Foundation Scholarship, which is offered to a PCO/Salus student based on qualities embodying Bay’s commitment to the profession including integrity, compassion, partnership and dedication to the greater good, in the amount of $5,000.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/NIAPHILLIPS
The first-ever Accepted Students Day gave Doctor of Optometry students who were accepted or matriculated into the Fall 2022 cohort a chance to come to the University’s Elkins Park, Pennsylvania campus.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/PCOFIRSTASD
On April 14, 2022, family, friends and colleagues of Satya Verma, OD ’75, FAAO, DPNAP Diplomate, gathered to honor him — who joined the PCO faculty in 1971 — on his retirement at the end of 2021 after 50 years of service to the institution.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/SVERMAPLAQUEDEDICATION
A group of students from PCO/ Salus participated in the “Opening Eyes” program for athletes who competed in the New Jersey Special Olympics, held recently at The College of New Jersey. Over two days, 12 students and faculty screened 268 Special Olympians and provided glasses and sunglasses for 350 individuals.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/NJSPECIALOLYMPICS2022
The Optometry Learning Experience (OLE), created in 1979 by John J. Crozier, OD ’48, then director of Admissions, has allowed student groups to visit PCO/Salus for almost four decades in order to gain insight into the academic life of an optometry student. The signature program is designed to offer participants the opportunity to investigate the academic study associated with the Doctor of Optometry degree program at PCO/Salus, as well as the profession of optometry and the many career opportunities available.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/OLE2022
SeeShore Fest held at The Starboard in Dewey Beach, Delaware, raised more than $24,000; $10,000 went toward the Foundation for Fighting Blindness and the remainder was awarded to the William Feinbloom Vision Rehabilitation Center, which is housed at The Eye Institute (TEI), for its low vision services. The donation will go into the Friends of Feinbloom fund, which covers rehab services that insurance does not cover and/ or devices that patients cannot afford.
SEE MORE AT TINYURL.COM/SEESHORE2022
A Pennsylvania State Appropriation will grant PCO/Salus entering students for August 2023, who are also Pennsylvania residents, with funding contributing towards their tuition expenses.
PCO/Salus concluded its second annual Robert E. Horne Summer Enrichment Program (SEP) with a celebratory closing event. SEP provides underrepresented students of color within the Doctor of Optometry program a jump start into the academic year with the goal of improving matriculation, attrition and graduation rates while fostering a safety net of support and mentorship.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/SEPCONCLUDES2022
The 15th annual Looking Out for Kids charity fundraiser was hosted on November 12, 2022 at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where Salus honored Professor Kovin Naidoo, BSc, BOptom, MPH, OD ’95, PhD, DHL (Hon.), with our Lighthouse Award.
LEARN MORE AT SALUS.EDU/LOFK
LOW VISION PARTNERSHIP
The University’s O&M program received a grant from the Reader’s Digest Partners for Sight Foundation to support their internship programs. The one-year grant is for $84,680. The program kicked off earlier this summer and is currently supporting six interns.
And, according to Jamie Maffit, MS, COMS, CLVT, RYT, director of the O&M program, there are a lot of “firsts” associated with the grant: it’s not only the first time the program has received this grant; but it’s the first time the program has had full-time O&M services at the William Feinbloom Vision Rehabilitation Center, housed at The Eye Institute (TEI); and it’s the first time the program has supported full-time O&M interns at Salus.
States, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) shared information with the University’s OT students. The virtual event, held in January 2022, was sponsored by the University’s chapter of Pi Theta Epsilon (PTE) — the national honor society for OT students — and the Salus Student Occupational Therapy Association (SOTA) chapter and featured Mary Fabio, MD, of the CHOP Refugee Program.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/CHOPPARTNERSHIP2022
The University’s BLVS department has partnered with the Northeast Pennsylvania Lions Service Foundation (NEPALSF) for a pilot program to bring quality services to northeast Pennsylvania. The program will provide up to five BLVS students with a stipend to pursue semester-long direct service internships in northeastern Pennsylvania, with the ultimate goal of attracting students to jobs in that area after graduation.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/BLVSLIONSPILOT
When Suha Almusa, MS ’22, graduated this fall from the University’s Orientation and Mobility (O&M) program, it is believed she had become the only female certified O&M specialist in her native country of Saudi Arabia. Her ultimate goal is to share her knowledge and establish an accredited O&M program there.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/SUHAALMUSAO-M
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/READERSDIGESTGRANT
OT STUDENT ACCEPTED INTO AOTA
Chrystyna Colón, ’23OT was recently accepted by the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) into its Summer Institute of Future Scientists in Occupational Therapy.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/COLONAOTA
To help ensure refugee children have a healthy start to their lives in the United
The SLP department hosted an open house to help prospective students get a sense of the program. Students participated in a question-and-answer session with SLP faculty, a presentation from Admissions and two panel discussions with faculty and current students.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/SLPOPENHOUSE2022
Kelly Salmon, SLPD, CCC-SLP, BCS-S, CLT-LANA, NDC, assistant professor in the SLP department along with SLPs
Lauren Hermann, MS, CCC-SLP and Maggie Donaker, MS, CCC-SLP, and radiologist
Benjamin Mervak, MD — presented a poster titled “Interprofessional Collaboration in the Fluoroscopy Suite: The Perceptions of Speech-Language Pathologists and Radiologists Surrounding Videofluoroscopic Swallow Studies Purposes and Procedures,” which was among the top three posters to win the Dysphagia Research Society People’s Choice Award at the group’s virtual conference in mid-March.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/SALMONPOSTER
The SLP program received two grants that will be used to help students learn to care for individuals with Parkinson’s disease and acquired brain injuries. The first grant was from the Parkinson’s Voice Project and covers training students in techniques that help patients improve their speech intelligibility. Salus has received the award for four consecutive years, which is $20,000.
The second grant, for more than $2,500, is from the Council on Brain Injury (CoBI), which supports individuals who have acquired brain injuries through motor vehicle accidents, sporting accidents or strokes. This was also the fourth year Salus received this grant.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/SLPGRANTS2022
For several years, students in the University’s PA program, which emphasizes experiential service learning, volunteered at MANNA. The organization’s mission is to provide medically tailored meals to help improve health outcomes for those living with serious illness. This service learning experience affords PA students the opportunity to apply didactic content provided in the nutrition module of their Integrative Medicine course.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/PAMANNASERVICE2022
As the new director of the PA program, Rachel Ditoro, MSPAS, PA-C, PhD, is committed to educating her students about more than the content on the board exam. “Not only will they be trained and competent enough to pass their board exams, but the medical education they’re getting at the University will allow them to be successful, compassionate clinicians,” she said. “The piece that we feel we want to continue to strengthen is around communication, building empathy, and trying to help students become providers patients will go to and feel good about.”
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/DITORODIRECTORPA
Forty-seven students in the Class of 2022 PA program received their Long White Coat in a ceremony in October. Known as the “COVID Class” because they had to complete much of their didactic work online from home during the pandemic, the students persevered and received their long white coats in person at the Hafter Center.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/LONGWHITECOATPA22
The University’s first Adaptive Sports Day welcomed community members with limb loss or orthotic bracing to participate in a variety of adaptive sports and activities. For the event, Salus’ newest program — Orthotics and Prosthetics — partnered with Hanger Clinic, a leading national provider of products and patient care services that assist in enhancing or restoring the physical capabilities of those with disabilities.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/ADAPTIVESPORTSDAY22
ROBERT DISOGRA MADE HIS MARK
After 45 years of service to children and adults with hearing loss, it’s time for Dr. DiSogra, the first Osborne College of Audiology (OCA) advisory board chairman who planned and taught the pharmacology/ototoxicity course for the first five years after the Doctor of Audiology (AuD) program was initially inaugurated in 2000, to retire and reflect on his career.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/DISOGRARETIRES
OCA hosted a one-day interactive online Audiology Learning Experience (ALE) on January 7, 2022 for undergraduate students who are interested in audiology as well as to those who may be undecided about their career direction. Students had the opportunity to interact with faculty, staff, and current students, as well as virtually tour the clinical skills lab and the Pennsylvania Ear Institute.
OCA staff hosted their annual reception — complete with a champagne toast — to see their Audiology students off to their externships. The Class of 2023 includes the first cohort of five students
in the Accelerated Three-Year AuD program to go out on externships.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/AUDEXTERNSHIPS2022
Linda Casser, OD, FAAO, FNAP, professor emerita, PCO
Cheryl Keslar, senior payroll coordinator
Marlene Hill, student financial affairs secretary
Pamela Hunter, patient service representative
Holly Myers, OD ’86, associate professor, PCO
Jenny Rajan, AuD ’09, CCC-A, FAAA, with the help of four OCA students, delivered the “Dangerous Decibels” educational program to high schoolers in the Centennial School District on May 26, 2022. The high school students learned to recognize safe and dangerous sound levels and exposure time, created models of anatomical structures related to hearing, learned ways to protect their hearing from hazardous sounds and measured the output of their personal music listening devices. The AuD students also provided the high schoolers with hearing screenings and information about the audiology profession.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/DANGEROUSDECIBELS2022
Thahira Kallumurikkal, AuD ’22, has already had quite a career. And, by the time she walked across the stage at commencement on May 26, 2022, to receive her Doctor of Audiology degree from OCA, she was ready to head back to do even more great things in her home country of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/THAHIRABOOK
Kenneth Newton, MS, CCC-SLP, assistant professor, SLP
Gale Orlansky, OD, MEd, assistant professor, PCO
Jane Tyson, administrative assistant
Virginia Scott, MSW, low vision coordinator
Karen Slavin, senior staff accountant
Claire Wyszynski, administrative assistant
Melissa E. Trego, OD ’04, Resident ’09, PhD, dean of PCO/Salus, is the new president of the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO), the academic leadership organization committed to advancing optometric education and research to enhance the health and well-being of the public.
Dr. Trego assumed the duties of the ASCO president at the organization’s annual meeting in June 2022 at the American Optometric Association (AOA)
conference in Chicago and is only the fourth PCO/Salus educator to serve ASCO in this capacity.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/TREGOASCO
PCO/Salus was also front and center at the American Academy of Optometry (AAO) centennial celebration “Academy 2022” from October 25-31 in San Diego.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/AAO2022
In April, the SLP program attended the Pennsylvania Speech-Language-Hearing Association (PSHA) conference in Pittsburgh. Robert Serriani, MS, CCC-SLP, FNAP, chair of the SLP program, was the convention chair and several faculty and clinical educators contributed to developing and facilitating the convention content. The University Forum pulled together multiple universities across the Commonwealth of PA to discuss graduate education and share strategies to address challenges in higher education. Salus also hosted an information table in the Exhibit Hall where they were able to interact with potential students as well as externship sites and other vendors.
The SLP and Audiology programs attended the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) annual conference in New Orleans from November 17-19. Three OCA students, Lilliana Geraldes, ’24AUD, Chase Sereno, ’24AUD and Yeva Mishailov, ’23AUD, received an Audiology/Hearing Science Research Travel Award (ARTA) to attend the conference, the first time OCA students have received this award.
Orthotic and Prosthetic Association (AOPA) National Assembly in San Antonio from September 28 – October 1, and the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists (AAOP) New Jersey chapter’s annual meeting in Atlantic City, New Jersey from November 9-11. During the conferences, the department networked with exhibitors, attended workshops and patient demonstrations and heard from various speakers.
Platinum National Vision, Inc.
Gold
EssilorLuxottica
Lindy Comunities
MyEyeDr.
Silver
Conicelli Toyota Coopervision
Bronze
Brass Lock & Key
CliftonLarsonAllen LLP
Crown Holdings, Inc.
E.B. O’Reilly & Associates, Inc.
Fox Rothschild, LLP
General Vision Services
Sharp’s Landscaping, Inc.
The Stevens & Lee Companies
Dr. Ditoro and Cara Orr, PA-C, attended the 50th-anniversary PAEA Education Forum event, a national conference for PA educators, in San Diego. Dr. Ditoro presented her doctoral research on student self-assessment.
OT faculty interacted with potential students for their Post-Professional Doctorate in OT (OTD) program at the Pennsylvania Occupational Therapy Association (POTA) expo in Lancaster, Pennsylvania from September 31 to October 1 and the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) Education Summit in Orlando, Florida from November 10-12.
TD Bank
Warby Parker
Webber Associates, LLC
In-Kind
Roni Lagin & Co.
Cannon Graphics
Crane Communications
Additional Sponsors
Alpine Solutions Group
American Painting & Decorating
Opt 4 Group LLC
Wills Eye Physicians
Patriot Construction
The O&P department attended two conferences this fall: the American
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
The University’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee spent the summer evaluating vendors for the second iteration of the campus climate survey. The ViewFinder® Survey, produced by INSIGHT for Diversity magazine — the only trusted source for diversity and inclusion information in higher education — was ultimately selected.
Viewfinder® Campus Climate Surveys are designed to help colleges and universities measure and assess both their strengths and weaknesses around diversity and inclusion efforts for students, faculty, staff, and administrators. They provide insight into what shapes the experiences and perceptions of diverse individuals on campus to help institutions create an environment where everyone feels safe, welcome, valued, and respected. Climate Surveys help leaders better understand students’ and employees’ experiences, and identify strengths and areas for improvement, which can help establish a baseline and measure annual progress regarding key initiatives.
During the evaluation process, the DEI committee outlined its time frame to include modifying survey questions for the Salus community,and marketing, with survey completion beginning in late January. Utilizing an external process will provide validation, a greater sense of anonymity among participants, and the ability to benchmark with other healthcare graduate institutions.
Climate Surveys evaluate students, faculty, staff, and administrators about their:
• perceptions of their institution’s climate
• perceptions of how their institution supports diversity and equity, and
• experiences with bias at their institution
Students, staff and faculty who feel connected to and supported by their campus communities have a higher likelihood of success – in the classroom, with their patients and clients, in their personal lives and in the workplace. And, because we cherish our values of diversity, equity, inclusion and our identity as a health science professional institution with teaching, learning, and care at the pinnacle of our existence, we feel compelled to continually strive for a campus environment cultivated in cultural humility and fostering a sense of belonging for all members.
According to Dr. Juliana Mosley Williams, special assistant to the president for DEI, “understanding your campus climate is an important step toward ensuring your institution’s future success — and that of your students and employees.”
Salus is committed to ensuring all students and employees on any Salus campus have the opportunity to live, learn, and work in a supportive and equitable environment.
CAMPUS CLIMATE MATTERS, AND HERE’S WHY.Salus is committed to providing a supportive and equitable environment in the workplace. Students, staff and faculty who feel connected and supported by their campus communities have a higher likelihood of success in the classroom.
Although my tenure as president of the Salus Alumni Board has just begun, I have already had the privilege and pleasure of not only speaking at this spring’s commencement but also addressing the incoming Salus students. In doing so, I’ve been able to reconnect with the alpha/omega of my student trajectory at PCO/Salus. Upon this reflection, I’ve concluded that a fully engaged healthcare career should rest upon a three-legged stool.
The first leg rests upon the excellent academic preparation you received at Salus University and the extended friendships you cultivated with your mentors and peers. This has prepared you for a prosperous professional life.
The second leg is formed from your engagement with professional organizations and associated legislative involvement. Since our healthcare professions are legislatively controlled, it is crucial that you stay engaged within this arena as this ensures that you can practice to the full scope of your professional training.
The third leg relies on your continued link with your alma mater. By supporting your academic roots, financially and by being a mentor, you ensure that the next generation will be elevated. Just as you have stood on the shoulders of those before you, you now have the opportunity to provide those shoulders for others. This is an excellent way to repay Salus for all the opportunities it has provided, while also having the benefit of experiencing the exuberance of students launching into a new career!
The alumni board provides an open door to help you reconnect with your former friends and develop new friendships with another generation of colleagues. It keeps you in touch with how academia is preparing the future of your profession as well as perpetuating the vitality of your selected careers.
I encourage your consideration of this three-legged model to strengthen your professional experience. Always remember that a three-legged stool remains stable even on an uneven surface. I encourage you to be involved with your alumni board’s appeals and alumni activities. I guarantee that you will receive more in return than you will give.
Carpe Diem, Robert Owens, OD ’80, FAAO, Diplomate ABO
The alumni board provides an open door to help you reconnect with your former friends and develop new friendships with another generation of colleagues.”
An informal reunion by the PCO Class of 1966 (pictured above) was held in August 2022. Six members of the class got together and reminisced. Standing, from left to right, are Dr. Irving Gurwood of Churchville, Pennsylvania, and Dr. Ihor Fedoriw of Allentown, Pennsylvania. Sitting left to right are Dr. Joel Laveson of Marlton, New Jersey, who organized the event with the help of the Salus Alumni Association, Dr. Donald Shestack of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, Dr. Michael Kaplan of Margate, New Jersey, and Dr. Edward Campell of Ewing, New Jersey.
Richard Shuldiner, OD ’70, FAAO, reports that he has made great strides in improving the care of those with vision loss. He has educated and lectured to remind doctors that referral for low vision care is now the standard.
Harold G. Kohn, OD ’70, has retired after 48 years of practice in New York, Pennsylvania and with the U.S. Army. He served six years of active duty and 32 years in the Army Reserve. Overseas assignments included South Korea and a short humanitarian mission in Nicaragua. His two highest medals were the Army Commendation Medal and the U.S. Army Achievement Medal.
Bernice Machamer, OD ’74, has been practicing optometry for more than
Class Notes
40 years. She works part-time now but still enjoys seeing patients.
Eugene Mc Donough, OD ’77, is finishing up 10 years on the New York State Optometry Board. He has served as chairman for the past four years.
Ken Hue, OD ’77, is in private practice in Indiana, Pennsylvania and he just welcomed his first grandchild in March 2022. His younger son, Jonathan, is a surgical resident at University Hospital in Cleveland Ohio, and his wife is an emergency medical doctor. Dr. Hue’s oldest son, Ryan, is a lead scientist at Bridgestone in Ohio.
Janet Summers, OD ’78, is a clinical assistant professor at the Roseberry School of Optometry in San Antonio. She recently obtained a Master of Science in Organizational Development and Leadership from the University of the Incarnate Word.
he would never walk normally again or do any sports. Through physical therapy, he has worked himself back to hiking and biking, swimming, kayaking — and skiing better now than before.
Marla Moon, OD ’82, FAAO, is a consultant at Heimer, Fiore, and Turco Eyecare and Surgery Group in State College, Pennsylvania. She also serves as a consultant to the National Board of Examiners in Optometry (NBEO).
Curtiss Anderson, OD ’87, has been practicing optometry in the Atlanta area since 1991. He owns two offices, one in Atlanta and one in Decatur, Georgia. Dr. Anderson has been married for 28 years and has two children — a son, Ryan, 27 years old, and a daughter, Margeaux, 24. Dr. Anderson is active with international missions and has been providing vision care to the people of Jamaica for 20 years.
Elisa Haransky-Beck, OD ’92, has been a successful Vermont practitioner for many years and attributes her success to her long career in vision therapy facilitation. In addition, she is also published as one of 50 contributors to the newly released Vegan Voices: Essays by Inspiring Changemakers. She is currently writing a book and sharing courses online.
Lisa Wallace-Davis, OD ’92, is currently the president of the Virginia Board of Optometry. She recently attended the Association of Regulatory Boards of Optometry’s (ARBO) 2022 annual meeting.
psychology and pre-professional biology from the honor’s program at Concord University in 2002. He owns Appalachian Eye Care and New River Eye Care. In 2016, he completed an MBA and in 2020, he earned a Master of Education in Instructional Design. He was named Philanthropist of the Year by Concord University in 2021.
Michelle Sporn, AuD ’09, is the Chief Medical Officer at Aria Care Partners to focus on audiology care. Dr. Sporn is an American Board of Audiology certified audiologist with an extensive background in audiology including serving in a leadership role at Starkey Hearing Technologies. In addition, she has held positions with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, supporting the Veterans Benefits Administration, and the Silverstein Institute. Dr. Sporn’s primary focus is to provide support and guidance to the Aria Care Partners team of audiologists. She will also set policies and procedures to provide quality audiological care for residents in long-term care facilities.
Marc Jacobson, MMS ’21, was recently hired as an orthopedic physician assistant for Rochester Regional Health in Rochester, New York.
Mark Cinalli, OD, FAAO ’82, was recently honored with the American Optometric Association Federal Advocacy Representative of the Year Award for 2022. He is a past president of the West Virginia Association of Optometric Physicians and has been a strong advocate for optometry on the federal level. He is pictured with AOA President Dr. Bob Layman, who presented the award at AOA on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
Marc Weiner, OD ’83, suffered a skiing accident in 2018 that left him with multiple injuries. Dr. Weiner refused to listen to his medical doctors, who said
Mesheca Bunyon, OD ’99, is currently the president of the Maryland Board of Examiners in Optometry. She recently attended the Association of Regulatory Boards of Optometry’s (ARBO) 2022 Annual meeting.
Brad Lane, OD ’07, MBA, was recently named the Alumnus of the Year by Concord University. He earned his undergraduate degrees in sociology,
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania granted approval for the Pennsylvania College of Optometry to offer a Master of Science degree in Rehabilitation Teaching — now called Vision Rehabilitation Therapy (VRT) — and a Master of Science degree in Orientation and Mobility (O&M) in November 1992, making both of those programs 30 years old as of 2022.
Admittedly, Nathalie Miller, MSOT ’20, was “that horse kid.” From the age of 10, she was hanging around in the barn mucking stalls and cleaning water troughs just so she could get extra time with the horses and earn more riding time. That love of horses has now turned into a career. Miller now works at the MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital in Washington, D.C., where she handles outpatient services for those who have suffered strokes and brain injuries. Trained to treat patients with concussions, she also works in vision therapy and does part-time hippotherapy, mainly in pediatrics, at Great and Small Ride, a nonprofit therapeutic riding program in Montgomery County, Maryland.
His job as a speech therapist is “pretty taxing,” so when Max Saeger, MS ’19, gets home from work, he likes to relax by singing. He’s been singing in school and community choirs since he was in elementary school, and would someday love to pursue more organized community-based singing. After completing both his didactic and clinical training in the Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) department at Salus University, he did a nine-month clinical fellowship at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, and it was there where he conducted voice therapy with his patients. Saeger became interested in becoming a speech therapist working with children in a school setting. After earning a degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Penn State, his master’s degree from Salus University and his experience here convinced him that working with adults in a medical setting was his preference.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/MAXSAEGERWATN
It could be said that attaining a PhD in the Biomedicine program at Salus University is akin to climbing a mountain. For Michael Baertschi, PhD ’15, BSc, FHNW (Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz, the name of the optometry college in Switzerland), MSc Optom, MMed Education, FAAO, FEAOO (Fellow of the European Academy of Optometry and Optics), that was quite literally the case. “The PhD program at Salus gave me knowledge, reputation, success, happiness and was a ‘door opener’ in many ways,” Dr. Baertschi said.
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/MICHAELBAERTSCHI
As the president of the Virginia State Board of Optometry, vice chair of the Newport News Redevelopment and Housing Authority Board of Commissioners, board member of the Newport News Arts Commission and the Virginia Optometric Association Board of Trustees as well as serving in numerous other organizations, “involved” is the perfect word to describe Lisa Wallace-Davis, OD ’92. “My biggest advice to incoming or current optometry students is to get involved,” said Dr. Wallace-Davis. “For me personally, getting involved allowed so many different opportunities to open up.”
READ MORE AT SALUS.EDU/LISAWALLACEDAVIS
Leon I. Schwartz, OD ’49, passed away on August 31, 2021. Husband of Shirley (Green); father of Roni (Randy) Sushko, Lonn Schwartz, OD ’80, and Leonard (Sandi) Freiheit III. Brother of Howard (Marilyn) Schwartz and Anita (Fred) Cohen. Grandfather of Joshua (Kelly), John (Brittany), Jennifer, Heather (Jeff), Sarah and Madeline; great-grandfather of Crew, Greyson, Stella and Jackson.
Garner H. Downey, OD ’50, passed away on February 1, 2022. He was born August 24, 1922, in Elkton, Virginia, the son of the late David Austin Downey and Pearle Lenora Harris Downey. He graduated from Elkton High School, Elkton, in 1939, Bridgewater College, Bridgewater, Virginia in 1948, with a degree in mathematics and then PCO in 1950. Dr. Downey enlisted in the United States Army in 1943. He was in training in “Signal Intelligence,” becoming a high-speed Morse code operator decoding Japanese and German communications. He married Mae Frances Thacker on August 14, 1945 at the Elkton Presbyterian Church, Elkton. They had one daughter, The Reverend Dr. Karen Downey
Beals, who currently resides in Hilo, Hawaii. Dr. Downey’s office of optometry, was opened above Downey’s Furniture, his mother and father’s furniture store, in 1950. He retired in 2010 after working 59 years. In addition to his daughter, Karen, he is survived by his granddaughter, Katie Adrianne (Ryan) Jones, and two great-grandsons, Sterling R.T. Jones and Kaimalino M.O.S. Jones, who also reside in Hilo, Hawaii.
Victor S. Morrison, OD ’50, passed away on April 1, 2022 at the age of 94, in Sarasota, Florida. Born on December 28, 1927 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; attended PCO and practiced optometry in Mechanicsburg for 50 years. Survived by wife of 62 years, Barbara; son Daniel Morrison; daughter Nancy Morrison Levitt (Peter Levitt); grandsons Ben and Adrian; sister Barbara Morrison Eller. He is predeceased by brothers Alan and Robert Morrison, OD ’48
Vincent “Bill” T. Penikas, OD ’50, passed away on December 25, 2021, at the age of 95. Dr. Penikas joined the Army after graduating from Bristol High School in 1943. He began his career as a Doctor of Optometry, then joined the Air Force and earned his PHD in Nuclear Health Physics. His long career in the Air Force took him around the world where he helped monitor the safety of diverse sites, including many space
launches. He retired as a Full Bird Colonel, moved back to Bristol and finished his career as Radiation Safety Officer at the UConn Health Center. He is survived by Grace (McCarthy), his wife of 67 years; his sons Jim and Jeff, and his daughter, Kathy (Miller); five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren; brother Robert and sister Dorothy (Ruscica). He was predeceased by his brother, Richard, and mother and father, William and Mary (Adamski).
E. Lee Adams, OD ’53, passed away on July 24, 2022 at Kitty Askins Hospice in Goldsboro, North Carolina. “Doc Adams,” as many called him, was born August 14, 1925 in Adamsville, the section of Goldsboro named for his family. He was preceded in death by his parents, Minnie Fulton & Benjamin Franklin Adams, and sisters Ola Bee Butler and Ercell McDougall. He graduated from Goldsboro High School. Enlisting in the Navy as soon as eligible in 1943, Naval AO 3rd Class Adams was assigned to a PB4Y-2 bomber in the VPB-120 squadron stationed at Shemya Air Force Base in the far Aleutian Islands when WWII ended. After his honorable discharge, Dr. Adams completed a BS degree in biology with a French minor in three years at Wake Forest University. After his completion of his Doctor of Optometry degree at PCO in
1953, Dr. Adams returned to his hometown and served the members of the community with eye care for 58 years. Surviving family members include his wife, the former Hazel Burke, his daughter Betty Susan, sons Edwin Lee, Jr. and Glenn Scott, and a granddaughter Alexan.
Frank W. DiChiari, OD ’53, FAAO, passed away on April 1, 2022. He was the son of the late Salvatore and Mary (Aceto). He was the husband of Esther (Bontempo) for 62 years until her passing in December 2021. He graduated from LaSalle Academy, completed his pre-medical courses at Providence College and graduated from PCO. He did an internship at Rhode Island Hospital, Ophthalmology Section. He served in the Army and was stationed at the Eye Clinic in Colorado, at Fort Carson Army Hospital where he was instrumental in examining over five thousand troops. He then served at the Eye Clinic at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He started his Optometry practice in April, 1956, which is now Garden City Eye Care in Cranston, Rhode Island. In 1959 he became the director of the Low Vision Clinic at the Rhode Island Association for the Blind, now called In-Sight. He headed the clinic for thirty years. He wrote several articles on low vision and lectured on low vision many times throughout the United States. Dr. Dichiara became
a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry in 1970 and became a Diplomate in Low Vision in 1980. He was honored twice by his colleagues with the Optometrist of the Year Award in 1980 for his many contributions to the profession and the Distinguished Service Award in 1987, the highest award the Association gave at that time. He was named Alumnus of the Year by Pennsylvania College of Optometry in 1998. In 2007, the Rhode Island Optometric Association presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to Dr. DiChiara. Dr. DiChiara assisted Dr. William Padula of Connecticut to establish a Low Vision Section of the American Optometric Association, which he subsequently chaired. He was instrumental in producing a manual on low vision. He was presented with the highest award the Section provides, The Low Vision Care Award in 1998. Dr. DiChiara practiced in Cranston, Rhode Island for nearly 60 years, until his retirement at age 83. Dr. DiChiara served on the Board of Directors of Big Brothers of Rhode Island for twenty years and they honored him with the Humanitarian Award in 2004. He leaves his daughter Dr. Louise DiChiara Pastore and his son Frank W. DiChiara and his wife, Elaine; three grandchildren, Elena Anne Pastore, Christina Chiara Pastore and Peter Thomas Pastore III. He was predeceased by his siblings, Michael, Peter, and Anthony DiChiara and Angela Maccarone.
Charles S. Papier, OD ’53, passed away on June 25, 2022. He was born in Trenton, New Jersey, and attended PCO. He and his wife Judy were stationed in Germany for several years during his time in the Army. Dr. Papier went on to practice optometry in Pennington for 35 years. Son of the late Harry and Reba Papier, and brother of the late Donald Papier, he is survived by his wife. They would have been married 70 years in August.
He is also survived by sons Kenneth Papier, OD ’84 and Jeffrey Papier (Phil Barboro), sister-in-law Lenore Papier, and granddaughter Maddie Papier. During his time in Pennington, Dr. Papier served as president of the New Jersey Optometric Association and received a number of professional awards from that organization. Dr. Papier was also active in the American Optometric Association. In 1981, he established a free eye clinic for Green-
wood House residents and managed the clinic until his retirement in 1990.
A. Gregory Toler, Jr., OD ’57, passed away on March 20, 2022, at the age of 88. He was preceded in death by his beloved parents, Arthur Gregory Toler Sr. and Marie Lenzi Toler; his brother, Petro Carroll Toler; and daughterin-law, Ann Garrett Toler. He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Mabel; his three sons, Alan (Cheryl), Paul (Darla)
Melissa A. Padilla, MPH ’13, passed away on May 29, 2022. Born to Robert and Helen Dobbins on June 29, 1966, she grew up in Westfield, New Jersey, before attending Drexel University from which she graduated with high honors. She began her career path in the Philadelphia area, which would lead her to a long and successful career with PCO, later Salus University. While at PCO, she held several leadership positions, culminating in her appointment as executive director of the World Council of Optometry. In this capacity, she traveled the world, often utilizing her impressive bilingual skills to interact with different cultures and establish an immediate rapport with the people, as well as critical skills when leading challenging global public health initiatives. Her passion for lifelong learning eventually led to her earning a master’s degree in public health, which afforded her the opportunity to join the faculty at Salus University and teach
its first course on Health Literacy. This was the role she was born to do; sharing her knowledge with others in teaching, always with thoroughness, intelligence, and humor.
While Padilla relished her work and the many unique experiences and challenges it afforded, she absolutely loved being a mother to her daughter, Ariana, whom she considered the greatest joy of her life. After an early retirement due to a chronic illness, she lived in Maryland for a few years before moving to Massachusetts in 2020 to care for her mother. She met the challenge of a major life change in the midst of a pandemic with determination and grace, making many new friends in the process. Padilla loved to travel, loved art (and was a pretty decent artist herself), and loved flowers, all a reflection of her intellectual curiosity and creative spirit. Padilla is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Anthony Campo; her mother, Helen Dobbins; her sister and brother-in-law, Jennifer and Donald Layman; her brother, and sister-in-law.
and Scott; his two daughters, Genevieve Cozad (Matthew) and Claire Johnson (Curtis); and his 11 grandchildren, Christopher (Meghan), William Toler (Abigail), Garrett, Hannah, Lenzi, David Cozad, Alison, Andrew Cozad, Adam, Bryan Cozad and Saylor Johnson. He is also survived by two brothers, Anthony Toler (Arlene, deceased) and Joseph Toler (Suzanne). He was born, raised and returned to Westover Hills after attending PCO and serving in the United State Air Force. Dr. Toler was a member and held several positions in the following optometric organizations: Richmond Optometric Society, Virginia Optometric Association, Southern Council of Optometrists and American Optometric Association. Dr. Toler was a fellow in the Virginia Academy of Optometry, a member of the Optometric Extension Program and a member of the College of Optometrist in Vision. He was Virginia Optometrist of the Year in 1977. He served at the pleasure of the governor of Virginia on the Board of Optometry 1979 to 1984. He was also a Southern Council of Optometrist Education Committee member. He was certified by the Virginia Board of Optometry to use diagnostic pharmaceutical agents and certified by the Virginia Board of Medicine to use Therapeutic Pharmaceutical agents.
Israel Greenwald, OD ’59, FAAO, passed away on January 14, 2022 in New York, following a brief illness.
Born in 1935, Dr. Greenwald was raised in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, graduated two years early from City College’s uptown campus in 1955 and finished his studies at PCO in 1959. A past president of the New York State Optometric Association, he had a popular optometry practice on Staten Island and was an adjunct clinical professor at SUNY College of Optometry, a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry, and an award-winning Fellow of the College of Optometrists in Vision Development. A pioneer in the field of pediatric vision therapy, his acumen led to national and international speaking engagements and the publication of a textbook on strabismus. He also offered his services to disabled children residing at the Willowbrook State School, improving the vision–and lives–of many of them. He enjoyed 58 years of marriage with his wife, Ruth. She survives him, as do his children, Laurie Saloman (Mark) and Evan (Tracey), grandchildren Ariel and Jonathan Saloman and Samuel Greenwald.
Robert P. Jones, OD ’60, passed away on June 13, 2022, at the age of 89. After graduating from Tufts University in 1954, he volunteered for the U.S. Army during the Korean war. Taking advantage of the GI bill to attend the PCO he earned his OD with honors. While there he met
his future wife, Elizabeth L. Delaney, who had graduated from the Germantown School of Nursing. Married in 1960, Dr. Jones and Elizabeth moved to Penn Yan School District in New York and began their life together. Robert started his optometry practice and Elizabeth worked as a nurse for Soldiers and Sailors Hospital and as a substitute nurse for Penn Yan School District. Raising three boys and being very involved in the Penn Yan community, Robert and Elizabeth participated in many fraternal, political, public, military, and social organizations.
Joel S. Frank, OD ’66, passed away on August 28, 2022 at the age of 86. Dr. Frank was born April 11, 1936, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, to the late Harry Nathanson and Ruth Brown Frank. He was also preceded in death by his brother, Gary E. Frank. Dr. Frank was a USAF Veteran, an alumnus of Wilkes University and PCO. He is survived by his wife Jacqueline; daughters, Adrianne B. Smeltzer and Jonelle (Eric) Brooks; sisters, Sally (Joel) Freed and Susan Frank; grandchildren, Quenton (Inessa), Christian (Emmie), Erica (Graham), Jonathan (Meghan), Mark (Aryn), Cathryn (Kyle), Benjamin; great grandchild, Samuel Jonathan.
Robert E. Purnell, OD ’66, passed away on May 26, 2022, at the age of 79. Before joining his father (Dr. Robert H. Purnell) in Rutherford, New Jersey, Dr. Purnell and his wife Sandy did a one-year residency/internship on the
Navajo Reservation in Arizona and New Mexico. They traveled from school to school screening children for eye conditions as well as spectacle prescriptions. He was active, and president, of the medical mission organization called Team Healthcare up until the pandemic, visiting Africa twice yearly for eye exams throughout different regions since 1997. He was a lifetime member of the Lion’s Club and was NJ Jaycees’s past president (1972). He was one of the founding fathers of Camp Jaycees — a camp for intellectually and developmentally disabled adults 1971 (located in Pennsylvania). He was loved and cherished by many people including: his parents; his wife Sandra Purnell (Loux); his sons, Robert Schorn Purnell, OD ’96 (Martha) and Timothy John (Alexandra); and his grandchildren, Troy, Krista, Nixon, Chase, Nolan, Leyla and Adrianna.
Forrest R. Schaeffer, OD ’77, passed away on July 6, 2022. He was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, to the late Forrest L. and Eleanor (Kitty) Breidinger Schaeffer on April 23, 1951. He graduated from Dieruff High School in 1969 and the University of Pittsburgh in 1973. He then completed grad-school at PCO in Philadelphia. Dr. Schaeffer initially practiced in Susquehanna, Hummels Wharf, and Altoona in Pennsylvania. He then opened offices in
Hampton, Newport News, Virginia Beach and Williamsburg in Virginia, as well as Salisbury and Ocean City, Maryland. He was married to the former Janice Camp for 47 years. He is survived by daughter Nicole Noelle (James) Salgado, grandchildren, Maddox Ainsley, Miles Forrest and grandson, Ethan. He is also survived by sisters Judith (John) Condravy and Donna Hertzog.
David A. Evans, III, OD ’83, passed away on Sept. 2, 2022. He was born in Kingston, Pennsylvania, on Dec. 20, 1957, and was the son of the late David A., Jr. and Evelyn Evans. He graduated from Northwest High School, Wilkes University and PCO. He had an independent optometry practice in Nanticoke, Pennsylvania, and was a partner in Family Vision Care in Kingston. He was a member of the American Optometric Association and Pennsylvania Optometric Association and its board for many years leading up to his presidency in what he called “2020: The Year of the Optometrist.” Dr. Evans is survived by his wife of 42 years, Gail Evans, OD ’84; children, Kyle and his wife, Taylor; Brooke Evans; and Curtis Evans; siblings, Amy Boytin and her husband, Chuck; Darrell Evans and his fiancée, Jackie Pascucci; Doug Evans and his wife, Lori; and Robyn Confalone and her husband, Jay; sister-in-
law, Connie Higgins and her husband, Dennis.
Thomas E. Fisher, AuD ’03, passed away on May 23, 2021. He was born in Wilmington, Delaware, on Christmas Day, 1953, to E. Eugene and Anne Marie (Mullen) Fisher. He married Lorrie, and together they had two children. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point with a master’s in Communicative Disorders-Audiology. He was employed as an audiologist in Champaign, Illinois and then relocated to Wausau in 1979 and joined Ear, Nose and Throat Associates. Later he completed a Doctorate of Audiology (AuD) at the PCO School of Audiology and continued to be dedicated to his patients at ENT Associates until his retirement in May of 2019. He is survived by his children, Kim (James) Kramer and Ben (Nicole); his former wife, Lorrie; his grandchildren, Jackson, Carter, and Emlyn; his father, E. Eugene Fisher; his three sisters, Karyn (Jay) St Pierre, Nancy (George) Slater, and Barbara (Steve) Ingraham. He was preceded in death by his mom, Anne Marie.
Crystal B. Jackson passed away on May 24, 2022. She was born August 29, 1953, in Philadelphia, PA to Alfretta E. Bronson and David A.
Bronson. She left Philadelphia with her mother at the age of six and settled in Atlantic City. She was educated in the Atlantic City Public School system graduating from Atlantic City High School, Class of 1972. Even though she was raised in Atlantic City, Philadelphia called her back to attend Pierce Jr. College (graduating 1974), attended the National School of Health Technology, becoming a registered medical assistant. Unable to find a position as a medical assistant, she was hired by PCO and worked there for 43 years. She is survived by her son, David Windsor Jackson.
Donald P. Kolessar passed away on July 3, 2022 at Paul’s Run Retirement Community. He was born in Freeland, Pennsylvania, and grew up in Philadelphia where he went to Dobbins High School. He was a corporal in the Army during the Korean conflict. Following his service, he became a firefighter for the City of Philadelphia where he was employed for 22 years. He also worked in facilities and maintenance at PCO, where he was employed for more than 30 years.
Debra McReynolds passed away on August 26, 2022. She was born April 23, 1960, to Harry Wiggins and Curly Cutner. and raised in Williamston, North Carolina. She graduated from Williamston High School, class of 1978. She furthered her education at UNLV in Las Vegas, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in biology. She started working at The Eye Institute
(TEI) at PCO/Salus in 2005. She worked at the Godfrey Avenue location of TEI for all 17 years of her service to the University. She was the administrative assistant for the vice president of Clinical Operations. She also served as the Notary Public at TEI, and managed the privileging and the insurance credentialing for all the providers. She ensured the providers remained up to date on their licenses, CPR certification, and CAQH attestations. She is survived by her husband, Aaron; daughter, Carla Wallace; sons, Craig Brown and Darryl Blackwell; and one granddaughter.
Thanks to the tremendous support of Salus University’s Board of Trustees and executive leadership, this past year was the beginning of a major transformation in philanthropic giving at Salus.
In fiscal year 2022, the Office of Institutional Advancement and Alumni Relations returned to in-person alumni and friends events and successfully initiated fundraising for the Nyman Brothers Scholarship, the Robert E. Horne Summer Enrichment Program, the George S. Osborne College Scholarship and the University’s newest program, Orthotics and Prosthetics. All of this was accomplished while we surpassed our $1.2 million stretch goal, which was 25 percent higher than the previous year. A year before, that might have seemed unimaginable.
Our aspiration is to build a culture of philanthropy at Salus among all of our constituents. For us, that means more than encouraging individuals to give back — it’s about instilling in our internal and external communities a deep sense of gratitude for others. And, it’s also about creating meaningful engagement opportunities: we want our donors and alumni to see firsthand — and feel — the impact of their philanthropy.
On behalf of my colleagues in the Office Institutional Advancement, thank you for investing in Salus University and thank you for investing in our students.
To make a year-end donation online, visit salus.edu/give or scan the QR code.
Jacqueline Patterson, MPA Vice President of Institutional Advancement and Community Relations
Closing date for the above figures is June 30, 2022. All gifts received after that date will be reflected on the next annual report. Based on Office of Institutional Advancement pre-audit figures.
Our aspiration is to build a culture of philanthropy at Salus among all of our constituents. For us, that means more than encouraging individuals to give back — it’s about instilling in our internal and external communities a deep sense of gratitude for others.”
JACQUELINE PATTERSON, MPA
The University recognizes donors who have made significant cumulative gifts providing major institutional support. We also recognize generous gifts in the current year.
PRESIDENT’S CIRCLE
$25,000 or more this fiscal year
Alcon *
I. William Collins, OD *
Escalon Medical Corp.
Mr. Reade Fahs
Hafter Family Foundation
Independence Blue Cross Foundation
William Lakin, OD
Donald H. Lakin, OD ’53 *
Maculogix
National Vision Inc.
Northeast Pennsylvania Lions Service Foundation
Jeffrey S. Nyman, OD and Mrs. Marilyn S. Nyman, Med * Office Depot *
Pennsylvania Vision Foundation
Readers Digest Partners for Sight Foundation
Salus University Student Council
Volk Optical, Inc.
DEAN’S CIRCLE
$10,000 or more this fiscal year
Alcon Foundation
Manikandan Rajappa, MPH ’14 and Radhika Aravamudhan, PhD
Chadwick Optical
Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta
Armando J. Coro, OD ’70
Roger W. Cummings, OD ’76
Elizabeth King Trust c/o BNY Mellon
Ethel Sergeant Clark Smith Memorial Fund
Johnson & Johnson Matching Gifts Program
Johnson & Johnson Vision
New Jersey Academy of Optometry *
Dr. Kenneth & Mrs. Linda Nyman
Susan C. Oleszewski, OD ’76, MA
The Patricia Kind Family Foundation
SeeShore Fest
TD Charitable Foundation
Mrs. Helen T. Toland
Mrs. Freda Torrens
KEYSTONE SOCIETY
$5,000-$9,999 this fiscal year or cumulative giving of $50,000
Estate of Joseph F. Bacon, OD ’63 (d)
CooperVision, Inc.
Mrs. Adrienne P. Haine-Schoenes
Hirtle, Callaghan & Co., LLC
Hoxie Harrison Smith Foundation *
Mr. Keith D. Ignotz *
Keplr Vision
Lawrence Lefland, OD ’81 *
Luxottica Group
Mr. Marc S. Meketon
Michael H. Mittelman, OD ’80, MBA, MPH *
Marla L. Moon, OD ’82 *
Algernon A. Phillips, OD, MD ’69
Elois G. Rogers-Phillips, MD
Salus University Alumni Association
The Scholler Foundation
Nancy Shils
Donald R. Smith, OD ’73
Strategic Health Alliance, LLC
Girija Sundar, PhD
Mrs. Jo Surpin *
The Gitlin Foundation
The Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation
PILLAR SOCIETY
$2,500-$4,999 this fiscal year
Derrick L. Artis, OD ’89
Kerry J. Burrell, OD ’03
James M. Caldwell, OD ’89, EdD *
Craig A. Cassey, OD ’86 *
Conicelli Toyota *
Anthony F. Di Stefano, OD ’73 *
Mr. Richard M. Echevarria *
Mrs. Tamara Echevarria
Barry S. Eckert, PhD
Ms. Joyce Koh
Mrs. Sarah W. Mitchell
Move Together
Elizabeth Moy
Carlo J. Pelino, OD ’94 *
Marvin L. Schrum, OD ’80 *
Alicia Spoor, AuD
Charles Stone, AuD
Toyota Dealer Match Program
Ha-Phuong T. Tran, OD ’98 *
Melissa E. Trego, OD ’04, PhD *
CORNESTONE SOCIETY
$1,000-$2,499 this fiscal year
Daniel A. Abramowicz, PhD *
Diane T. Adamczyk, OD ’85 *
Allergan
David R. Anderson, OD ’82
Anonymous *
Anonymous *
Anonymous
Anonymous
Barry J. Barresi, OD, PhD
Tenesha A. Bazemore, OD ’95
G. Richard Bennett, OD ’79 *
Robert P. Bittel, Jr., OD ’83
Bernard H. Blaustein, OD ’67 *
Mark B. Boas, OD, ’86 MS and Suzanne O. Boas, OD ’86 *
Bettie B. Borton, AuD
Victor H. Bray, MSC, PhD *
Linda Casser, OD
Dale Ching, OD ’77
Connie L. Chronister, OD’ 86, MS ’10 *
Clompus, Reto & Halscheid Vision Associates, P.C.
John E. Conto, OD ’86
Edward V. Cordes, III, OD ’77
Georgia K. Crozier, OD ’84, MS ’87
Barry J. Farkas, OD ’71
B. Scott Fine, OD ’72 *
David L. Fitzgerald, OD ’87
John J. Fitzgerald, III, DO *
Ms. Carolyn Forcina
Mr. John M. Gaal
John A. Godfrey, OD ’92
Jane W. Goldblum
Harry N. Halscheid, OD ’01
Karen E. Jones, OD ’00
Mrs. Maura A. Keenan *
Ms. Mary Lou Kerwin
Dr. Kathleen Kinslow
Kiwanis Club of Jenkintown
James Konopack, PhD
George S. Kornfeld, OD ’71
Chrystyna P. Kuzmowych, OD ’71
Liberty Mutual Affinity Marketing *
Blaine A. Littlefield, OD ’83 *
Dennis H. Lyons, OD *
Kelly A. Malloy, OD ’96 *
Marie A. Marrone-Moriarty, OD ’89
Tae Wha Carolyn Moon, OD ’85
Dr. Juliana M. Mosley-Williams
Ms. Catherine E. Muhr
Mrs. Jacqueline Patterson
William I. Rapoport, OD ’78 *
Steven J. Reto, OD ’87 *
Salus University Continuing Education
Henry B. Samson, OD ’73 *
Michael A. Satryan, OD ’84 *
David C. Scharre and Janice E. Scharre, OD
I was so grateful to have been at Salus. I had such a great experience of support. The professors care about each student as an individual and provide support to help each student succeed to reach goals that are important to them.”
“
Mitchell Scheiman, OD, PhD ’16 *
Cathy D. Stern, OD, ’80
Robert D. Strohecker, OD ’89
Ms. Emily Turner
Brian S. Urban, AuD ’06
Melissa A. Vitek, OD ’95 *
VSP Global
Scott S. Weaver, OD ’77 *
Harold J. Zell, Jr., OD ’78 & Surgeons
Marla L. Moon, OD ’82 *
Claudia C. Morgan, OD ’99
Lawrence J. Mroz, OD ’83 *
Jeffrey S. Nyman, OD and Mrs. Marilyn S. Nyman, MEd *
Susan C. Oleszewski, OD ’76, MA
Opt4 Group LLC
Michele Palos-Samsi, PA-C
Carlo J. Pelino, OD ’94 *
Publishing Concepts, L.P.
Rajeev K. Raghu, OD ’98 and Brandy
J. Scombordi-Raghu, OD ’98
Henry B. Samson, OD ’73 *
Kenneth W. Savitski, OD ’87 *
Janice E. Scharre, OD
Mitchell Scheiman, OD, PhD ’16 *
Charles Stone, AuD
Robert D. Strohecker, OD ’89
David J. Strunk, OD ’77 *
Nicole B. Swistak, OD ’03
Ms. Shannon Tornoe
Brian S. Urban, AuD ’06
Melissa A. Vitek, OD ’95 *
Walmart, Inc.
Warby Parker
Scott S. Weaver, OD ’77 *
Harold J. Zell, Jr., OD ’78
The traditional Optometry program at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry at Salus University offers students early clinical experience.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY RYAN BRANDENBERG PHOTOGRAPHY
Heritage Society Members have made provision for Salus University as part of their estate planning in the form of a bequest, gift annuity, trust agreement or life insurance. Through their foresight and generosity, these donors help preserve the heritage of the University and build a stronger future for Salus University.
George A. Angello, Jr., OD ’75
Sheree J. Aston, OD ’82, MA, PhD
Markus I. Barth, OD ’74
Charles and Anne Beier
Class of ’76 (1)
Edward V. Cordes, III, OD ’77
Anthony F. Di Stefano, OD ’73, MPH
Burton Eisenberg, OD ’67
B. Scott Fine, OD ’72 *
Kathy A. Foltner, AuD ’02
David H. Foster, OD ’82
Mr. Donald M. Gleklen
Donald H. Lakin, OD ’53 (d)
Lawrence Lefland, OD ’81 *
Bernard D. Miskiv, OD ’71
Michael H. Mittelman, OD ’80, MBA, MPH
Marla L. Moon, OD ’82
Charles S. Papier, OD ’53 (d)
Adele D. Paul, OD ’80
Kevin Ryan, OD ’78
Satya B. Verma, OD ’75
My experience at Salus was awesome. I met wonderful professionals and besides learning about audiology, I got to know the fantastic person behind the professional.”
LUZ FIGUEROA, MSCA ’22
CLASS OF 1935
Estate of Robert L. Henry (d) *
CLASS OF 1943
Harry W. Reinitz (d)
CLASS OF 1943 SPRING
Freda Sattel *
CLASS OF 1947
I. William Collins *
Leonard H. Jaffe
Harriet F. Sigel *
CLASS OF 1950
Carolyn G. Stonskas
CLASS OF 1951
W. Donald Plava *
CLASS OF 1952
Bernard Mallinger
CLASS OF 1953
Donald H. Lakin (d) *
Charles S. Papier (d) *
Robert R. Perlin *
CLASS OF 1954
Richard J. Neuer *
CLASS OF 1955
Haskell Aronson
Murray D. Glasner
Arthur S. Grossman *
Richard A. Peoples
Martin G. Rubin
David Sarason *
CLASS OF 1956
Leonard Pine
CLASS OF 1958
Roy F. Anderson
Robert Gerson *
William R. Kline
CLASS OF 1959
John G. Kulba *
CLASS OF 1960
Thomas J. Joyce, Jr. *
CLASS OF 1961
Benigno J. Fernandez *
Robert A. Rosenberg *
CLASS OF 1962
Richard A. Feldstein
Philip Gerson *
Nathan Solat
CLASS OF 1963
Estate of Joseph F. Bacon (d)
Donovan C. Blanchard, Jr.
George A. Obssuth
George C. Pence *
CLASS OF 1964
Robert J. Fleishman, Jr. *
Joel Galinn
CLASS OF 1965
John R. Anthony
Allan N. Brull *
Joseph G. Gackenbach *
Alfred J. Galiani
Paul D. Halpern
M. Morse Michels
CLASS OF 1966
Edward S. Campell *
Irving Gurwood
CLASS OF 1967
Bernard H. Blaustein *
Stuart S. Cohn *
Rudolph W. Croce *
Michael H. Heiberger
Chester L. Kolley *
Arnold M. Sapperstein
J. Barry Sapperstein *
CLASS OF 1968
Everett B. Fainberg
Martin Goldman *
Robert M. Greenburg
Jeffrey L. Jacobson
Melvyn S. Mazer *
H. A. Arnold Papernick
James J. Polkabla *
Melvin W. Simmons
CLASS OF 1969
Arnold R. Eger
Melvin E. Lilly
Algernon A. Phillips
Walter S. Ramsey *
Marlene C. Richardson *
Joseph B. Segal *
James A. Tribbett *
CLASS OF 1970
Kenneth B. Bandolik *
Michael Caplan *
Armando J. Coro (d)
Walter J. Drill *
Harvey O. Feldman
Harold G. Kohn *
Gary L. Scheib *
David L. Schmolly *
Richard J. Shuldiner
CLASS OF 1971
Gerald N. Adams *
Jerard W. Brown *
Barry J. Farkas
James A. Goodyear
Mark B. Gordon
Reid L. Grayson *
Donald P. Gutekunst *
Stuart Kaufman
Bruce A. Kellner
George S. Kornfeld
Chrystyna P. Kuzmowych *
Richard E. Margerum *
Samuel C. Smart *
Ryan R. Sorg
Wilbert E. Stock, Jr. *
Eugene A. Winakor *
CLASS OF 1972
Dennis R. Delp *
Mark L. Farbman
B. Scott Fine
Stanley A. Fruzynski
James E. Hill
G. William Hopkins
Elliot F. Lasky *
Martin A. Mass
Edward F. Pinn *
David A. Rupp *
Robert H. Wolk
CLASS OF 1973
John Bielinski *
Charles A. Bonelli, Jr. *
Stuart P. Creson *
Anthony F. Di Stefano *
Robert M. Dobrusin
Douglas K. Gauvreau *
Kenneth R. Gift *
Douglas N. Glazer *
Gene G. Lund
Dennis H. Lyons *
Mark M. Mastervich *
David Miller
Ronald J. Minsky *
Eugene B. Person
Joel H. Rogol *
Henry B. Samson *
Donald R. Smith
Andrew J. Sokolik
Larry D. Sumner
Thomas P. Webb *
Alton A. Williams
CLASS OF 1974
Martin D. Arkin
Markus I. Barth
Jay L. Burstein
Daniel D. Gottlieb *
Henry A. Greene *
Bernice A. Machamer *
Hal R. Mendel *
Howard B. Stromwasser *
William T. Suhr *
CLASS OF 1975
Monroe N. Farmer, Jr. *
Robert I. Goldstein *
David J. Harakal
Joseph S. Ieni
Malcolm H. Kelly, Jr.
Steven M. Laderberg *
Alan S. Lax
Steven A. Linas *
Satya B. Verma
CLASS OF 1976
Donald K. Alexander *
John B. Cudlipp
Roger W. Cummings
Howard M. Davies, Jr. *
Jay DeMesquita
David A. Gourwitz *
Rick L. Hartman
Martin C. Kenig *
David K. Kurtzman *
Edward T. Marshaleck *
Ronald E. Monacelli
Susan C. Oleszewski
Leon J. Pendracky
Theodore J. Rosenberg
Daniel J. Tulman *
CLASS OF 1977
Carol L. Aycoth
Dale Ching
Edward V. Cordes, III
Alexander R. Crinzi *
Larry M. Fuerman
William J. Greenberg
Kenneth J. Hue
Eugene J. McDonough
Robert J. Parnes
William J. Prinsket *
Andrew M. Prischak
Richard L. Rosen
Gerald G. Soltis
David J. Strunk *
Scott S. Weaver *
David A. Weinstock
CLASS OF 1978
Leslie P. Brodsky *
Christopher J. Dostal
John C. Duff *
Gary M. Fishberg
Susan J. Godzac
Jerry S. Hardison *
Marc S. Hecker
Anthony E. Latagliata *
Larry M. Levine
Aaron B. Mandel
Edward J. Patro *
Frank J. Pirozzolo
Lloyd M. Pritz
William I. Rapoport *
Leonard M. Steiner *
Ira S. Tucker
John F. Vilcheck, Jr.
Jeffrey S. Wigton *
Harold J. Zell, Jr.
CLASS OF 1979
Sarah D. Appel
G. Richard Bennett *
J. Michael Burke *
Richard J. Clompus
Thomas A. Costabile
Ira Herman
Robert L. Kardos *
Paul J. Lobby *
Gary E. Oliver *
Francine Pearlman-Storch
Lauren S. Scharf-Snyder
Robert G. Snyder
CLASS OF 1980
Vincent P. Bakey
Joseph C. Biondolillo
Jeffrey M. Brosof *
Raymond W. Corry
Michael J. Deitz *
Richard C. Edlow
Walter R. Foster
James M. Gabriel
Robin L. Gray
Roger K. Johnson
Daniel P. Kramer *
Jeffrey L. Kraskin
Richard D. Lappen
Michael H. Mittelman *
Robert L. Owens
Adele D. Paul
Marvin L. Schrum *
Joseph P. Shovlin *
David A. Siegel *
James S. Spangler
Cathy D. Stern
Leonard M. Thurschwell *
CLASS OF 1981
Joseph W. Babcock *
Marylin S. Borza
David J. Csonka
Susan N. Csonka
Alan H. Diamond
David Paul Dozack *
Charles H. Fitzpatrick
Lawrence Lefland *
N. Ron Melton
Edward V. Niemczyk *
Joseph P. Potosky
Michael L. Raff
Mark S. Rakoczy
Robert N. Ricart
Margaret J. Swinker
CLASS OF 1982
David R. Anderson
Michael G. Cohen
Glenn S. Corbin *
Michael D. DePaolis
David H. Foster *
Andrew M. Goodman
Stuart L. Greenberg
Marie R. Levine *
Leslie B. Miller
Marla L. Moon *
Robert W. Powelson
William E. Sax *
Barry M. Tannen
Thomas E. Whitlatch
Marci K. Wolfe *
CLASS OF 1983
Joseph Audia
Robert P. Bittel, Jr.
Lisa A. Carroll *
Nina J. Cox
Steven H. Friedman *
Scott A. Fuerman *
Robert W. Guerra, III
Nancy L. Herrold
Timothy G. Jessee
William T. Lenart
Blaine A. Littlefield *
Gerald P. Lubert
Christopher P. Marmo
Kurt J. Moody
Lawrence J. Mroz *
Robert L. Rosenthal
Barry J. Toyzer
Marc S. Wiener *
Karen M. Wrigley-Haak *
CLASS OF 1984
PENNSYLVANIA COLLEGE OF OPTOMETRY
Richard Centar *
Georgia K. Crozier
Gary J. Havranek *
Cynthia L. Kipp
Walter W. Ko *
Robert J. Manoli
Craig M. Match
Judson B. Moon
Andrew M. Moschitta
Lynne E. Pierce
Cletta A. Rochester
Michael A. Satryan *
Lawrence J. Sylvester
CLASS OF 1985
PENNSYLVANIA COLLEGE OF OPTOMETRY
Diane T. Adamczyk *
James J. Aversa *
Michael C. Baughan
C. Mark Brittain
Kelly A. Frantz *
Wayne J. Goldschneider
James R. Hall
David A. Hardic *
Jeffrey P. Krill *
Tonya D. Long
Brian P. Mahoney
Tae Wha Carolyn Moon
Stuart J. Neft *
Maria L. Parisi
James F. Saviola
Robert W. Stetekluh
Thomas R. Trio
Jeffrey L. Weaver *
Karl W. Wolfe
Robert S. Wywiorski
Barbara M. Yanak
Edward W. Zikoski
CLASS OF 1986
John M. Aimino
Alan J. Bacho, Sr.
Mark B. Boas *
Suzanne O. Boas *
Chris J. Cakanac *
Joseph J. Carillo *
Craig A. Cassey *
Diane B. Catania
Connie L. Chronister *
John E. Conto
John A. Dziadul, Jr. *
Kim B. Even *
Timothy W. Fox
Karen A. Fritz
Louis R. Iacoponi *
Binae Karpo *
Gary S. Kirman
Carla K. Mariscotti
M. Alan McLin *
Leigh A. Moser
Class of 1987
Curtiss Anderson
Isaac Bak
Veronica A. Constantine
Janet M. Dardick
Keith F. Fishe *
David L. Fitzgerald
Patrick M. Fleming *
Gregory P. Gaglioti
Susan E. McMahon Gardner
Michael P. Gowen, Sr. *
Elisa B. Haransky-Beck
Susan Chao Kim
Michael G. Kynn
Marc B. Nelson
G. William Orren, III
Rita Orren
Steven J. Reto *
Kenneth W. Savitski *
Marie E. Sokol
Abby M. Soll-Nelson
Jeannene L. Soodek
Sharon C. Stein
Phillip M. Vito
Class of 1988
Michael D. Allodoli *
Janice J. Durham *
Anne A. Geiger *
Lynn D. Jablonowski
Charles D. Kim
John D. Knouse
Gabriela R. Miller
John T. Nutaitis
Fernando L. Silva *
F. Joseph Werner
Joan M. Wing
CLASS OF 1989
Derrick L. Artis
Randy J. Cakanac
James M. Caldwell *
John A. Collini
Nancy C. Cooper-Gregory
John W. Diering *
Michele R. Haranin
Brad E. Hauser *
Jerome M. Hernandez
Helene M. Kaiser *
David I. Kepner *
Kimberly S. Kepner *
John Kurovsky
John M. Lennon, Jr.
Marie A. Marrone-Moriarty
Mark A. Shust *
Robert D. Strohecker
Annette D. Zamboni-Werner
CLASS OF 1990
Juliana Bock
Luanne K. Chubb
J. Christopher Huffman
Douglas J. Kelley
Philip M. Perrino
Philip J. Schaville *
Mark E. Schmidt
Frances E. Sites
John B. Wachter, Jr.
CLASS OF 1991
Neil P. Casey *
Stacey A. Coulter
Francis J. Dzwieleski
Anne Meccariello Smith *
Kimberly R. Pelger
Janice A. Simmons
Christopher H. Son *
Linda M. Stolfo
Beth E. Triebel *
CLASS OF 1992
Gwenn Amos
John J. Burrell, Jr.
Robert F. Gilligan *
John A. Godfrey
David S. Johnson
Elisabeth K. Kim
Rebecca L. Matscherz
Ruth A. Miller
Brian D. O’Donnell
Tara K. Rose *
Martha L. Santa Croce
Gregory W. Vallino *
CLASS OF 1993
COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES, EDUCATION AND REHABILITATION
Fabiana Perla
Felicia A. Whitney-Williams *
CLASS OF 1993
PENNSYLVANIA COLLEGE OF OPTOMETRY
Allan E. Davis *
Jerry R. Hensel
Marie T. Homa
Donald D. Kim
John H. Lee
Stacy L. Levinson
Edward M. Lopez
Nicole R. Moffett
Paul G. Pascarella
Alison L. Risko
Sandra T. West
Lawrence M. Zubel
Class of 1994
Jean A. Astorino
Don D. Blackburn
Anthony Efre *
Carlo J. Pelino *
CLASS OF 1995
COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES, EDUCATION AND REHABILITATION
Mr. Raymond Peloquin
CLASS OF 1995
PENNSYLVANIA COLLEGE OF OPTOMETRY
Tenesha A. Bazemore
Christy A. Coleman
William J. Ference
Shereen Hakki
Pamela S. Kimmel *
Barbara J. Thomson *
Eric R. Miller *
Jessica L. Reiniger
Dawn A. Scott
Todd A. Shuba *
Melissa A. Vitek *
Darryl R. Voight
Jacquelyn I. Williams-Blakey
Tomara P. Young
CLASS OF 1996
COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES, EDUCATION AND REHABILITATION
Carol A. Moog
CLASS OF 1996
PENNSYLVANIA COLLEGE OF OPTOMETRY
Heather A. Burton
Elizabeth B. Cluff
Krista M. Davis-Anderson
Josep J. Duro’ Vidal
Leann Goslak
Kelly A. Malloy *
Tracy M. Schroeck
CLASS OF 1997
COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES, EDUCATION AND REHABILITATION
Annetta G. Downing
CLASS OF 1997
PENNSYLVANIA COLLEGE OF OPTOMETRY
Cathy C. Alexander
Cinda Anderson
Daniel J. Brooksbank
Noah M. Eger
David A. Haine
Katherine L. Henning-Carpentier
Bonnie C. Silverstein
Keith E. Votens *
Kimberly M. Williams Bolar
Frederick Young
CLASS OF 1998
COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES, EDUCATION AND REHABILITATION
Muriel R. Savage
CLASS OF 1998
PENNSYLVANIA COLLEGE OF OPTOMETRY
Michael R. Boland
Bethany H. Brady
Christopher M. Dente
David J. Holler
Altagracia Lopez
Robert F. Love
Rocio C. Pasion *
Rajeev K. Raghu
Brandy J. Scombordi
Ha-Phuong T. Tran *
Marc J. Ullman *
John C. Zelazowski
CLASS OF 1999
COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES, EDUCATION AND REHABILITATION
Ms. Barbara A. Minkler
CLASS OF 1999
PENNSYLVANIA COLLEGE OF OPTOMETRY
Jean L. DeMoss *
John A. DuBois *
Ivy E. Frederick *
Kevin J. Krajewski *
Claudia C. Morgan
Lisa A. O’Brien *
Carrie R. Schreck *
CLASS OF 2000
Karen E. Jones *
Gary J. Kokosky
Lisa J. Kott
Jennifer M. LeKites
Walter G. LeKites, IV
Diana Mah
Mark I. Pelzner
Shannon L. Sharkey
David A. Wagner *
CLASS OF 2001
OSBORNE COLLEGE OF AUDIOLOGY
Veronica H. Heide
Kay D. Krebs *
Debra E. Williams *
CLASS OF 2001
PENNSYLVANIA COLLEGE OF OPTOMETRY
Andrew J. Doyle
Jamie A. Ellsworth-Neiman
William R. Forse *
Harry N. Halscheid
Anne P. Holmes
Sarah S. Mackie
Shannon L. Rosenswie
Hang H. Thai
Torrence A. Watkins
Kimberly A. Yee
CLASS OF 2002
COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES, EDUCATION AND REHABILITATION
Jennifer L. Edgar
CLASS OF 2002
OSBORNE COLLEGE OF AUDIOLOGY
Tom W. Morris *
CLASS OF 2002
PENNSYLVANIA COLLEGE OF OPTOMETRY
Rebekah A. Buccafurni *
Robert S. Duszak
Amanda M. Friess *
David W. Friess *
Richard G. Gardner *
Jason B. Hales
Michelle A. Kindler May
Quan L. Pham *
Ilana Gelfond-Polnariev
Roushanak Roushanaei-Fadavi
Jon B. Scott
CLASS OF 2003
OSBORNE COLLEGE OF AUDIOLOGY
Geneva W. Britt
Rita R. Chaiken *
Valerie P. Kriney *
Jonette B. Owen
Edward J. Szumowski, Jr. *
CLASS OF 2003
Pennsylvania College of Optometry
Aaditya Ajmani
Kerry J. Burrell
Andrea L. Carr
Shital V. Mani
Andrew J. Rixon
Heather A. Vallino *
Rebecca L. Wincek-Bateson
CLASS OF 2004
OSBORNE COLLEGE OF AUDIOLOGY
Tracey N. Post
Rhea C. Varadi
CLASS OF 2004
PENNSYLVANIA COLLEGE OF OPTOMETRY
William J. Fridel, III
Stephanie R. Holt
Dieuminh K. Nguyen *
Derek J. Pyle *
Melissa E. Trego *
Shang Xu *
CLASS OF 2005
OSBORNE COLLEGE OF AUDIOLOGY
Elaine C. Lamb
Anne M. Puglisi *
Christina Vail
CLASS OF 2005
PENNSYLVANIA COLLEGE OF OPTOMETRY
Carla D. Anderson
Justin W. Beamer
Christina H. Keshava *
Troy W. Morgan
Joanne D. Nguyen
Jose S. Pierre
Jennifer A. Sanderson
Amy E. Suda
David J. Vinci
CLASS OF 2006
COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES, EDUCATION AND REHABILITATION
Mrs. Rebecca James
CLASS OF 2006
OSBORNE COLLEGE OF AUDIOLOGY
Darcy E. Benson
Patricia Morrow
Bre L. Myers
Brian S. Urban
CLASS OF 2006
PENNSYLVANIA COLLEGE OF OPTOMETRY
Elizabeth A. Koski
CLASS OF 2007
OSBORNE COLLEGE OF AUDIOLOGY
Daniel T. Bigart *
Joni S. Bullough
CLASS OF 2007
PENNSYLVANIA COLLEGE OF OPTOMETRY
Amanda L. Curling
Anne J. Griffin *
Tricia M. Hanyok
Joseph Hartman
Brad M. Lane
Suzanne Parker Bulakowski
CLASS OF 2008
COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES, EDUCATION AND REHABILITATION
Ms. Merle Silverbook
CLASS OF 2008
OSBORNE COLLEGE OF AUDIOLOGY
Matthew L. Christy
Kenneth R. LaFerle
Gail A. Linn
CLASS OF 2008
PENNSYLVANIA COLLEGE OF OPTOMETRY
Jamie L. Magnotta
CLASS OF 2009
OSBORNE COLLEGE OF AUDIOLOGY
Candace R. Blank
Mary P. Evans
Ryan J. Horan
Paula Lawrence
Judy S. Levitan
Sherman G. Lord
Tony J. Philip
Leslie A. Stone
CLASS OF 2009
PENNSYLVANIA COLLEGE OF OPTOMETRY
Jonathan C. Bondroff
Rachel N. Brackley
Erin M. Draper
Karen L. Heaney
Scott Taylor
Erin L. Wisber
Nathan G. Zimmerman
CLASS OF 2010
OSBORNE COLLEGE OF AUDIOLOGY
Niki L. Barwick
Naikai S. Butler
Kellye C. Carder
Dana E. Luzon
Farah M. Hussain-Said
Diana L. Janney
Amanda M. Marchegiani *
Katheryn Monk
Liliana C. Piccinini
Felicia Stallings
Eleanor Whittington
Loreen B. Zimmerman
CLASS OF 2010
PENNSYLVANIA COLLEGE OF OPTOMETRY
Ashley D. Hudson
Essence N. Johnson
Kimberly Lee
Tracy A. Losinski
Cara J. Reitnauer Mark E. Street
CLASS OF 2011
Jacobi T. Cleaver
Darryl E. Glover, Jr.
Tiffany R. Humes
Carolyn E. Majcher
CLASS OF 2012
COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES, EDUCATION AND REHABILITATION
Andrew P. Paszko
CLASS OF 2012
PENNSYLVANIA COLLEGE OF OPTOMETRY
Nwamaka A. Ngoddy
Jamie C. Wohlhagen
CLASS OF 2013
COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES, EDUCATION AND REHABILITATION
Thomas A. Morton
CLASS OF 2013
MaryAnn Ragone
CLASS OF 2013
OSBORNE COLLEGE OF AUDIOLOGY
Andy H. S. Lau
CLASS OF 2013
PENNSYLVANIA COLLEGE OF OPTOMETRY
Gregory M. Barbush
Matthew S. Edwards
Divya M. Patel
CLASS OF 2014
COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES, EDUCATION AND REHABILITATION
Ms. Dawn M. Ciccarone
Mr. Manikandan Rajappa
CLASS OF 2014
PENNSYLVANIA COLLEGE OF OPTOMETRY
Taylor D. Babcock
Agnes S. Kim
Rachel M. Kishel
Charita L. Smith
CLASS OF 2015
COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES, EDUCATION AND REHABILITATION
Anthony M. Firetto
CLASS OF 2015
PENNSYLVANIA COLLEGE OF OPTOMETRY
Robert J. Africano
Meghan A. Dugan
Erin M. Kenny
Nikita A. Levy
Krystal F. Worthington
CLASS OF 2016
COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES, EDUCATION AND REHABILITATION
Mitchell Scheiman *
CLASS OF 2016
OSBORNE COLLEGE OF AUDIOLOGY
Nina T. Buckley-Ess
CLASS OF 2017
COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES, EDUCATION AND REHABILITATION
Lynn D. Greenspan *
Brian P. Mick
Zachary D. Saunders
CLASS OF 2017
PENNSYLVANIA COLLEGE OF OPTOMETRY
Evelyn A. Dearing
Christin N. DeMoss
Courtney G. Goode
Katherine G. Homa
CLASS OF 2018
COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES, EDUCATION AND REHABILITATION
Kinyatti Gakuhi
Susan M. Kinyatti
Lauren N. Sponseller
Andrea C. Tyszka OTD
CLASS OF 2018
PENNSYLVANIA COLLEGE OF OPTOMETRY
Mark A. Nelson
Gabriel A. Russell
Micaela L. Small
CLASS OF 2019
COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES, EDUCATION AND REHABILITATION
Robert Chelberg
CLASS OF 2019
PENNSYLVANIA COLLEGE OF OPTOMETRY
Roxanne D. Chalifoux
Jane K. Yoo
CLASS OF 2020
COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES, EDUCATION AND REHABILITATION
Kristin N. Kaplewicz
Erica E. Sheehan
Andrew J. Welsh
CLASS OF 2021
PENNSYLVANIA COLLEGE OF OPTOMETRY
Mohit Batra
Afshin Parsikia
The program made me personally a more reliable scientist and well-respected nationwide eye expert. The whole program increased my knowledge, improved my personality, strengthened my self-confidence, and boosted my acceptance not only in my profession as an optometrist, but also in the field of medicine and especially in ophthalmology.”
MICHAEL BAERTSCHI,PHD ’15, BSC, FHNW, MSC OPTOM, MMED EDUCATION, FAAO, FEAOO Salus University’s full-time, 25-month PA program prepares graduates to join one of the fastest-growing professions in the country and become integral members of today’s healthcare delivery team. Upon successful completion of the program, students receive a Master of Medical Science degree (MMS).
Ms. Alexis R. Abate *
Daniel A. Abramowicz, PhD *
Ms. Terri Albertson
Gwenn Amos, OD ’92
Sarah D. Appel, OD ’79
Radhika Aravamudhan, PhD
Derrick L. Artis, OD ’89
Alan J. Bacho, Sr., OD ’86
Ms. Marcie Baker
Felix M. Barker, II, OD *
Mr. Gregory K. Barnes
Gregory Benjamin, PhD, MPH
G. Richard Bennett, OD ’79 *
Bernard H. Blaustein, OD ’67 *
Ms. Kim Blodgett
Mark B. Boas, OD ’86, MS *
Lindsay M. Bondurant, PhD
Rachel N. Brackley, OD ’09
Victor H. Bray, MSC, PhD *
Brianna L. Brim, MSOT
Ms. Patricia Burke
Andrew R. Buzzelli, OD, MS
James M. Caldwell, OD ’89, EdD *
Ms. Jasmine K. Campbell
Linda Casser, OD
Craig A. Cassey, OD ’86 *
Connie L. Chronister, OD ’86, MS ’10 *
Ms. Dawn M. Ciccarone ’14
Elise B. Ciner, OD *
Stuart S. Cohn, OD ’67 *
I. William Collins, OD ’47 *
Mrs. Esther M. Colón
Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta
Glenn S. Corbin, OD ’82 *
Roger W. Cummings, OD ’76
Mrs. Marilyn E. Daltry
Dr. Beth Davidoff
Pierrette Dayhaw-Barker, PhD *
Ms. Pamela L. De Annis
Edward A. Deglin, MD
Janet Swiatocha Delatte, OD
Ms. Rebecca Delia
Christin N. DeMoss, OD ’17
Mr. Alfred Christopher B. Dezzi
Anthony F. Di Stefano, OD ’73 *
David Paul Dozack, OD ’81 *
Erin M. Draper, OD ’09
Mr. Richard M. Echevarria *
Barry S. Eckert, PhD
Jamie A. Ellsworth-Neiman, OD ’01
Reade Fahs, MBA
Barry J. Farkas, OD ’71
John J. Fitzgerald, III, DO *
Ms. Carolyn Forcina
Caitlyn J. Foy, DOT, MOTR/L
Ms. Lydia Friel
Mr. John M. Gaal
Joseph G. Gackenbach, OD ’65 *
Donald M. Gleklen, JD *
Ms. Marcy Graboyes
Anna Grasso, MSOT
Lynn D. Greenspan, OD, PhD ’17 *
Ms. Anna M. Griffin
Irving Gurwood, OD ’66
Ms. Alena Hackett
Ms. Savanna Hailu
Paul D. Halpern, OD ’65
Karen J. Hanson, PhD
Stanley W. Hatch, OD, MPH
Mr. Ryan T. Hollister
Stephanie R. Holt, OD ’04
Eileen Hunsaker, MS, CCC-SLP
Mr. Keith D. Ignotz *
Helene M. Kaiser, OD ’89 *
Mr. Donald C. Kates *
Mrs. Maura A. Keenan *
Erin M. Kenny, OD ’15
Byung Josh Kim, OD
Dr. Kathleen Kinslow
Ms. Joyce Koh
James Konopack, PhD
Brooke C. Kruemmling, PhD
Doan T. Kwak, OD
Andy H. S. Lau, AuD ’13
Ms. Jamie L. Lindsay
Ms. Elizabeth Lochner
Mrs. Lisa J. Lonie
Hania Mahmood
Kelly A. Malloy, OD ’96
Shital V. Mani, OD ’03
Marie A. Marrone-Moriarty, OD ’89
Mr. Joseph W. Marshall, III
Bernadette McNulty, PhD
Shivakhaami T. Meiyeppen, OD
Mrs. Janice M. Mignogna
Ms. Alycia M. Miller
Bhawanjot K. Minhas, OD
Mrs. Sarah W. Mitchell
Michael H. Mittelman, OD ’80, MPH, MBA *
Marla L. Moon, OD ’82 *
Dr. Juliana M. Mosley-Williams
Elizabeth Moy
Ms. Catherine E. Muhr
Bre L. Myers, AuD ’06, PhD ’17
Kenneth S. Newton, MS, CCC-SLP
Mrs. Dana M. Nissenfeld
Mrs. Sharon Y. Noce
Jeffrey S. Nyman, OD *
Neal N. Nyman, OD
Mr. James J. O’Donnell
Tracy N. Offerdahl- McGowen, PharmD
Susan C. Oleszewski, OD ’76, MA
Jonette B. Owen, AuD ’03
Mrs. Maureen E. Owens *
Maria L. Parisi, OD ’85
Ms. Sumathi Parthasarathy
Mrs. Jacqueline Patterson
Daniel L. Pavlik, MSPAS, PA-C
Francine Pearlman-Storch, OD ’79
Carlo J. Pelino, OD ’94 *
Fabiana Perla, MS, EdD ’93
Algernon A. Phillips, OD ’69, MD
Elois G. Rogers-Phillips, MD
Martin Pienkowski, PhD
Ms. Margie Singer
Mr. Carlos Rodriguez
Mr. Glenn R. Roedel
Joseph P. Ruskiewicz, OD *
Rebecca Ruskiewicz
Janice E. Scharre, OD, MA
Mitchell Scheiman, OD, PhD ’16 *
Ms. Jaime S. Schulang
Mrs. Monica J. Scirrotto
Brandy J. Scombordi, OD ’98
Ms. Regina Scriven
Ms. Ruby D. Singleton
Ms. Winifred A. Sontag
Lauren N. Sponseller, OTD, PhD ’18
Mrs. Natalie S. Standig
Strategic Health Alliance, LLC
Mark E. Street, OD ’10, MS
Girija Sundar, PhD
Mrs. Jo Surpin *
Mr. & Mrs. Patrick J. Sweeney *
Ms. Olivia Sweger
Ms. Marie L. Szolna
Mrs. Bonnie Taylor
Melissa E. Trego, OD, PhD ’04 *
James A. Tribbett, OD ’69 *
Daniel J. Tulman, OD ’76
Ms. Emily Turner
Andrea C. Tyszka OTD ’18, MSOT
Satya B. Verma, OD ’75
Melissa A. Vitek, OD ’95 *
Ms. Karen M. Volpi
Ms. Christina M. Welsh
Alton A. Williams, OD ’73
Joan M. Wing, OD ’88
Brian D. Zuckerman, Esq.
These individuals, companies and organizations have made non-cash contributions to Salus University. These include equipment, ophthalmic materials, solutions, books, auction items and other appropriate items that are accepted by the University.
Fort Washington Surgery Center
The vision of the Osborne College of Audiology (OCA) is to achieve national and international prominence by positioning OCA as an innovative training program in the country for the on-campus (residential) AuD degree program, and by establishing OCA as leaders in global on-line (distance education) audiology degree and certificate programs.
Dr. James S. Lewis Maculogix Staar SurgicalIt is indeed a privilege to contribute to the Osborne College of Audiology. The Sundar Distance Education Endowed Scholarship Fund is dedicated to the faculty who have made our programs distinctive with their dedication and unqualified generosity to share their knowledge and science and to all our students who have met the challenges of this unique program.”
GIRI SUNDAR, MPHIL, PHD, CCC-A, FAAA
Jody Abernethy
Mr. & Mrs. Robert Abernethy
Mr. & Mrs. Leonard Alansky
Mrs. Virginia M. Alvarado *
Lee Alyanakian
Terrence & Lee Alyanakian
David R. Anderson, OD
Mr. & Mrs. Anthony Andrejko
Mr. & Mrs. John Bachman
Barry J. Barresi, OD, PhD
Charles & Anne Beier
Amy Beitman
Shelley Benedict
G. Richard Bennett, OD *
Margaret Bernetich
Mark B. Boas, OD *
Suzanne O. Boas, OD *
Mr. & Mrs. John Bonanno
Bettie B. Borton, AuD
Carolyn Bratton
Dena & George Breece
Mr. & Mrs. Michael R. Brennan *
Ronald Brooks
Mr. & Mrs. Richard Buchanan
Ms. Apolonia Bulaong & Mr. Eduardo Bulaong
Drs. Carl S. & Ronnie Burak
Mr. Padraic P. Burke *
Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Busher
Andrew R. Buzzelli, OD, MS
Mr. & Mrs. John Byard
Mr. & Mrs. Tim Carreras
Mr. & Mrs. Ralph Carson
Dr. Roland Chalifoux
Connie S. Chiang, OD
Mr. & Mrs. Vincenzo Cicco
Elise B. Ciner, OD *
Kevin & Roxanne Coady
Kathleen Cuprys
Mr. & Mrs. Ryszard Cuprys
Mrs. Jennifer D’Arrigo Zuckerman
Donna DeCarolis
Mr. & Mrs. James E. DeDionisio
Michael J. Deitz, OD *
Mrs. Tamara Echevarria
Dr. & Mrs. M. Scott Edwards
Mr. & Mrs. David Evans
Mr. & Mrs. Daniel Farrand
Ms. Emma Fetscher
Dr. Adam M Finkel
Mr. & Mrs. Frank Flori
Mr. & Mrs. William J. Fridel *
Dr. Kenneth Frumkin
Mr. John M. Gaal
Kim Gaal
Mrs. Mo Ganey *
Ann Gilmor, PhD
Dr. & Mrs. Frederick Gohmann
Jane W. Goldblum
Amy Goldman, MS, CCC-SLP
Eileen K. Graboyes
Dr. & Mrs. Harold Graboyes
David Greenberg & Jean Marie
Doherty Greenberg
Mrs. Victoria V. Guthrie
Shelly Hahn
Mrs. Adrienne P. Haine-Schoenes
Mr. & Mrs. Mark Halatin
David Hartshorn
Mr. & Mrs. Neil Henriksen
Mr. & Mrs. Michael Hildebrandt
Ms. Carolyn Hirsh
Mr. & Mrs. Jun Huang
Linda Jacobson
Rozanne B. Jacobson
Mr. & Mrs. Seth Jacobson
Shankari Jaitly
Helene M. Kaiser, OD *
Mr. & Mrs. John Kalovcak
Mr. Donald C. Kates *
Mrs. Chere R. Katz
Mr. & Mrs. David Keenan
Ms. Mary Lou Kerwin
Mrs. Anne P. Keyser
Ms. Carleigh Kidwell
Kathleen Killian
Mr. & Mrs. Kenneth G. Killian
Sam & Gail Kroungold
Mr. Roni Lagin
Donald H. Lakin, OD (d) *
William Lakin, OD
Richard D. Lappen, OD
Mr. & Mrs. Charles Lercara
Mr. & Mrs. Jan A. Lewis
Laura & Alan Libove
Mr. Alan Lindy
Mr. Keith E. Locke
Peter F. Loewinthan, MD
Mr. & Mrs. Christopher Love
Mr. Wallace Lovejoy
Mr. & Mrs. Ray Luikert
Mr. Roger S. Madigan *
Eileen & Tom Engle Mallouck
Mr. & Mrs. Marc Manfre
Mr. Ken Marchegiani *
Mrs. Marie C. Marrone
Mr. Joseph W. Marshall, III
Mr. & Mrs. John A. Mazzeo
Representative & Mrs. Keith McCall
Mr. Eric M. McNeil *
Ms. Sandra B. McNeil *
Ms. Lori McWeeney
Mr. & Mrs. John Mehigan
Mr. Marc S. Meketon
Julie Meyers
Michael H. Mittelman, OD, MBA, MPH *
Mr. & Mrs. Austin Moran
Ms. Donna Morein
Mr. & Mrs. Gary Muckin
Sara Neumann, AuD, CCCA
Mr. Joseph Noce, III
Dr. Kenneth & Mrs. Linda Nyman
Marilyn S. Nyman, MEd, CCC-SLP
Neal N. Nyman, OD
Gretchen Oberle
Rita Orren, OD
Dr. & Mrs. Charles W. Paepke
Maria L. Parisi, OD
Mr. Donald Pavic
Mr. & Mrs. Thomas L. Pellegrini
Mr. & Mrs. James Penney
Mr. Bryan Phillips
Mr. Ross Pike
Mr. & Mrs. Marek Plucinik
Mr. & Mrs. Michael Putnam
Donna Quinn
Debra Rabin
Vinay Radhakrishnan
Ms. Keisha Raghunandanan
Ms. Sathi Raghunandanan
David C. Scharre
Janice E. Scharre, OD, MA
Karyn Scher, PhD
Carole Schwartz
Mr. & Mrs. Jeffrey B. Schwartz
Joan W. Schwartz
Leslie B. Schwartz
Joy Scott
Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Sembrat *
Mrs. Mary V. Sheridan
Edward B. Shils
Nancy Shils
Dr. Eric & Mrs. Stacey Shore
Mitchell & Penny Shore
Janice A. Simmons, OD
Ms. Ruby A. Singleton
Donald R. Smith, OD
Ms. Gail C. Sosnov
Alicia Spoor, AuD
Rebecca L. Sterner, OD
Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Stochla
Charles Stone, AuD
Jerald W. Strickland, OD, PhD
Mr. & Mrs. Robert R. Taylor *
Mrs. Helen T. Toland
Mrs. Freda Torrens
Dr. & Mrs. Richard Trevino
Mr. & Mrs. Kurtis Veit
Mr. & Mrs. Jeffrey Weinberg *
James Weinstein
Judith B. Weiss
Mr. & Mrs. John Whitham
Mr. & Mrs. Martin Wong
Mr. & Mrs. Henry Wylam
Mr. Thomas Yezerski
Major Michael Young
JULY 1, 2021 – JUNE 30, 2022
Alcon *
Alcon Foundation
Allergan
AmazonSmile
AMG National Trust
Estate of Joseph F. Bacon, OD ’63
Chadwick Optical
Clompus, Reto & Halscheid Vision Associates, P.C.
Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta
The Community’s Foundation DCCF
CooperVision, Inc.
Estate of Armando J. Coro, OD
Darryl R Voight, OD, PC
Dr. Richard Feldstein
Elizabeth King Trust c/o BNY Mellon
Escalon Medical Corp.
Ethel Sergeant Clark Smith Memorial Fund
Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund
Gold Gerstein Group LLC
Hafter Family Foundation
Hirtle, Callaghan & Co., LLC
Hoxie Harrison Smith Foundation *
Independence Blue Cross Foundation
Johnson & Johnson Matching Gifts Program
Johnson & Johnson Vision
Kelly Molock-Herold LLC
Keplr Vision
Kiwanis Club of Jenkintown
Liberty Mutual Affinity Marketing *
Luxottica Group
Maculogix
Meyer and Associates
Michael Jalowiec D.O. P.C.
Move Together
National Vision Inc.
New Jersey Academy of Optometry *
Northeast Pennsylvania Lions Service
Foundation
Northeastern PA Optometric Society
Office Depot *
The Patricia Kind Family Foundation
Pennsylvania Vision Foundation
Precision Eye Care
Readers Digest Partners for Sight Foundation
Robert S. Duszak, OD
Salus University Alumni Association
Salus University Continuing Education
Salus University Speech-Language Pathology
Salus University Student Council
The Scholler Foundation
Schwab Charitable
SeeShore Fest
Strategic Health Alliance, LLC
tcf
TD Charitable Foundation
The Gitlin Foundation
The Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation
The Vanguard Group
TIAA
Toyota Dealer Match Program
Volk Optical, Inc.
VSP Global
Wepay - Fidelity Giving Marketplace
The following entities have supported research and education programs at Salus University.
Council on Brain Injury
Department of Education
Department of Education - Office of Special Education & Rehabilitative Services
Department of Education - Office of Special Education Programs
Elizabeth King Trust, BNY Mellon
Eyesafe, LLC
Marshall B. Ketchum University
JULY 1, 2021 – JUNE 30, 2022
National Eye Institute
Northeast Pennsylvania Lions Service Foundation
Pennsylvania Department of Health
Pennsylvania Department of Human Services
Pennsylvania Lions Sight Conservaton & Eye Research Foundations
Salus University appreciates contributions to honor or celebrate important people in our lives. We also are grateful for gifts in memory of loved ones.
In Honor of
JAC M. ALYANAKIAN, MSOT ’22
Terrence and Lee Alyanakian
MARY S. ANDERSON, OD ’85
Michael C. Baughan, OD 1985
SARAH D. APPEL, OD ’79
Tracy L. Matchinski, OD, FAAO
VICTOR H. BRAY, MSC, PHD
Rita R. Chaiken, AuD ’03
LOUIS J. CATANIA, OD ’69
Paul D. Halpern, OD ’65
CLASS OF 2013 PCO
Matthew S. Edwards, OD ’13
PREET DHAMI, OD
Ms. Karen M. Volpi
ANTHONY F. DI STEFANO, OD, MED MPH ’73
Jerald W. Strickland, OD, PhD
DAVID E. FITZGERALD, JR., OD ’66
Edward S. Campell, OD ’66
ADINA HATCH
Sarah D. Appel, OD ’79
MR. ROBERT E. HORNE
Scott A. Fuerman, OD ’83
Courtney G. Goode, OD ’17
Kelly Molock-Herold LLC
Charita L. Smith, OD ’14
Barry M. Tannen, OD ’82
Sandra T. West, OD ’93
Jane K. Yoo, OD ’19
MARC L. JACOBSON, MMS ’21
Jeffrey L. Jacobson, OD ’68
Rozanne B. Jacobson
ERIN M. KENNY, OD ’15
Sarah D. Appel, OD ’79
Meghan A. Dugan, OD ’15
THOMAS L. LEWIS, OD ’70, PHD
Jerald W. Strickland, OD, PhD
LORRAINE LOMBARDI, PHD
Gerald P. Lubert, OD ’83
JEFFREY S. NYMAN, OD
Laura and Alan Libove Ms. Donna Morein
MARIA L. PARISI, OD ’85 Sarah D. Appel, OD ’79
HARRY AND ANITA ROSENBERG
Theodore J. Rosenberg, OD ’76
FREDA SATTEL’S RETIREMENT Craig M. Match, OD ’84
BRANDY J. SCOMBORDI-RAGHU, OD ’98
Anonymous
Vinay Radhakrishnan
R. LEWIS SCOTT, OD ’50 Joy Scott
ROBERT SERIANNI, MS Amy Goldman, MS, CCC-SLP
GIRIJA SUNDAR, PHD Sara Neumann, AuD, CCCA
HAROLD B. WAGNER, OD ’79
Donna DeCarolis
In Memory of
R.V. ARAVAMUDHAN IYENGAR, FATHER OF RADHIKA
ARAVAMUDHAN, PHD
Naikai S. Butler, AuD ’10
Kellye C. Carder, AuD ’10
Dana E. Coveney, AuD ’10
Farah M. Hussain-Said, AuD ’10
Amanda M. Marchegiani, AuD ’10
Liliana C. Piccinini, AuD ’10
Felicia Stallings, AuD ’10
DOMENIC A. COPPOLINO, JR., OD ’80
Leonard M. Thurschwell, OD ’80
GILDA L. CROZIER, OD ’43
Lynn D. Jablonowski, OD ’88
WILLIAM L. DENT, JR., OD ’58
Gabriel A. Russell, OD ’18
MAE R. FINKEL, RN
Dr. Adam M Finkel
KEVIN J. GUTHRIE, OD ’74
Anonymous
MR. ROBERT E. HORNE
Torrence A. Watkins, OD ’01
FULTON H. KATZ, OD ’66
Mrs. Chere R. Katz
SHELDON I. KEYSER, OD ’61
Mrs. Anne P. Keyser
MR. KEITH E. LOCKE
Elise B. Ciner, OD
Ms. Catherine E. Muhr
Mrs. Jacqueline Patterson
JOSEPH A. PERKA, JR., OD ’44
John R. Anthony, OD ’65
MARIE M. PIERRE, OD ’93
Nicole R. Moffett, OD ’93
K. RAGHUNANDANAN
Ms. Sathi Raghunandanan
JAMES & FLORENCE SIMMONS
Janice A. Simmons, OD ’91
HARRY WACHS, OD’48
Ann and Bert Hanson
HAROLD B. WAGNER, OD ’79
Amy Beitman
Shelley Benedict
Ronald Brooks
Shelly Hahn
Julie Meyers
Karyn Scher, PhD
MRS. WENDY F. WOODWARD
Elise B. Ciner, OD
CHAIR
Rebecca Delia, MS
VICE CHAIR
Daniel A. Abramowicz, PhD
SECRETARY
Craig Cassey, OD ’86
ASSISTANT SECRETARY
Lisa Lonie
TREASURER
Emily Turner, CFA
Derrick Artis, OD ’89
Thomas Beeman, PhD
Christopher Dezzi, MBA
Reade Fahs, MBA
Carolyn Forcina
Keith Ignotz, MBA
Kathleen Kinslow, CRNA, EdD, MBA
Joyce Koh, JD
Sarah Mitchell, JD
Michael Mittelman, OD ’80, MPH, MBA, FAAO, FACHE, Ex-Officio
Jamie Neiman, OD ’01, Resident ’02, Faculty Representative
Michele Palos-Samsi, PA-C
Chase Sereno, ’24AUD, Student Representative
Jo Surpin, MA, Immediate Past Chair
Shannon Tornoe
Officers
PRESIDENT
Robert L. Owens, OD ’80, FAAO
PRESIDENT ELECT
Zachary D. Saunders, MSOT ’17, OTR/L
SECRETARY/TREASURER
John Collini
PAST PRESIDENT
Merle Silverbook MEd, TVI ’08, O&M Specialist ’10
DIRECTORS
Lauren L. Bevan, MS ’17
Nina T. Buckley-Ess, AuD ’16
Rita R. Chaiken, AuD ’03
Michelle J. Ciancia, AuD ’18
Alta R. Fried, MSOT ’14
Ryan J. Horan, AuD ’09
Anthony F. Kokoszka, MSOT ’17
Andy H. Lau, AuD ’13
Blaine A. Littlefield, OD ’83
Valerie L. Miller Geller, MSOT ’17
Caitlin J. Raymond, MS ’17
Heather R. Stultz, MMS ’14
Bridget T. Turnbach, MS ’17
Perry C Umlauf, OD ’87
Christi-Marie Williamson, AuD ’20
Markus Barth, OD ’74
Emily Carr, OD ’12
Pelashia Rhodes, OD ’18
Riya Paranthan, OD ’14
Marianne Boltz, OD ’96
Gretchen Brewer Schneider, OD ’99
EMERITI MEMBERS
Mark Boas, MS, OD ’86
I. William Collins, OD ’47
Barry J. Farkas, OD ’71
Donald M. Gleklen, JD
Carl Polsky, JD
Jane Scaccetti, MS, CPS, MST
Harold Wiener, OD ’50
STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES
Kayla A. Hawkins ’24OD
Megan E. Kirkpatrick ’24AUD
Helping children has always been a key component of American Heritage Credit Union’s mission. And, now the financial institution is helping Salus University continue its work for children in need. The credit union donated $25,000 to keep the University’s Big Red Bus (BRB) on the road. The BRB, the University’s healthcare facility on wheels, travels to schools in the Greater Philadelphia area to offer vision screenings and comprehensive eye exams to students.
