Salus University Alumni Magazine Spring 2012

THE ALUMNI MAGAZINE OF

Pennsylvania College of Optometry

Osborne College of Audiology

College of Education and Rehabilitation

SPRING 2012

College of Health Sciences

Inside this issue: 1 2 7 11 14 16 17 19 20 Back

From the Alumni Association President Interview with President Lewis Class Notes for Dr. Lewis Interview with Dean Horne University News American Academy of Optometry Meeting Class Notes Missing Alumni In Memoriam Calendar of Coming Events

Published by Salus University Thomas L. Lewis, OD ’70, PhD President Lynne Corboy Director of Development Jamie Lemisch Director of Alumni Relations and Annual Giving

EDITOR Peggy Shelly Coordinator, University Publications and Communications

CONTRIBUTORS Dr. Victor Bray, Dr. Linda Casser, Jamie Lemish, Harriet Lewis, Dr. Richard Vause, Alison Wilk

EDITORIAL ASSISTANCE Karen Greave, Jamie Lemish, Lisa Lonie, Asami Platt, Jeanne Zearfoss

The Alumni Magazine of Salus University is published bi-annually for alumni, 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 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, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age or physical or mental disabilities. 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 the Affirmative Action Officer, Salus University, 8360 Old York Road, Elkins Park, PA 19027, (215) 780-1267.

Office of Alumni Relations (215) 780-1391 alumni@salus.edu www.salus.edu

DESIGN Dale Parenti Design

PHOTOGRAPHY Denise Brown-Robinson, Raphael Eschmann, MSc ’97, Valerie Kriney, AuD ’03, Glenn Roedel, Peggy Shelly, Annette Zamboni-Werner, OD ’89

THE ALUMNI MAGAZINE OF SALUS UNIVERSITY

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SPRING 2012

FROM THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT

Dr. Lewis, left, with Dr. Ochsenreither PCO Alumni Reunion May 1, 2010

Spring – a time of rebirth, renewal and rejuvenation – is upon us, and the University is experiencing springtime in a number of ways this year.

Dr. Tom Lewis will be stepping down after 23 years as the leader of the PCO/Salus family. During his tenure as president, he has guided the rebirth of this institution from an optometry college to a university with degree programs that include audiology, physician assistant studies, education and rehabilitation in blindness and low vision, and public health. An innovative curriculum was instituted at PCO and distance learning programs were developed for the Osborne College of Audiology.

The campus moved to Elkins Park, the Hafter Student Community Center was built and The Eye Institute was revitalized – all under his direction. Dr. Lewis’s impact on this institution has been immense. He will truly be missed!

“During his tenure as president, [Dr. Lewis] has guided the rebirth of this institution from an optometry college to a university with degree programs that include audiology, physician assistant studies, education and rehabilitation in blindness and low vision, and public health.”

In the spirit of this time of renewal, the presidential search committee has been working steadily to find a successor. We are fortunate to have four alumni on the committee. Drs. Mark Boas ’86, Craig Cassey ’86, Barry Farkas ’71, and Jean Pagani ’87 will be sure to have the interests of all alumni at heart as they move through the process. Hopefully, they will be able to find another visionary, one who can lead this institution into the future with the forward thinking of Dr. Lewis.

Be sure to rejuvenate yourself at this year’s Alumni Reunion on Saturday, May 5. During the day there will be tours of the campus, The “New” Eye Institute and the Pennsylvania Ear Institute, as well as a buffet luncheon. That evening why not enjoy fine food and dancing while renewing old friendships and creating new ones at the reception and dinner? This year’s event will feature live music from Tony Diecidue, OD ’87 and his band, Soul Intent. I hope to see you there!

In the meantime, my best wishes to all and, on behalf of the alumni, our very best to Dr. Lewis.

John Ochsenreither, OD ’88 President, Salus University Alumni Association

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BY ANN RAPPOPORT

Reflections and Revelations of a Visionary (Slated to step down as president on June 30, 2012, Dr. Lewis was interviewed for this article in January).

“This is going to sound funny… I don’t want to unwind,” acknowledged the public face of Salus University and wellknown change agent in the transformation of the optometry profession over the past three decades.

Preparing to relinquish the presidency of the institution whose assets grew tenfold under his 23-year leadership, Thomas L. Lewis, OD’70, PhD, says that he is energized by his work and doesn’t want to lose his “edge” as he leaves office and moves into a year’s sabbatical.

Yet he believes the time is right. At 65, the institution’s second-longest serving president views his 33 years in senior management as enough, and encourages “new leadership, new vision, new energy and new style. This is a good time to step down and bring in new ideas,” Dr. Lewis said.

He candidly observed that, “As life goes, everything comes back around in a circle.” Issues that were resolved, say a dozen years ago, “seem to creep back, returning in a different coat.” Dr. Lewis remarked that he wants to retire before his characteristically short patience further attenuates. And “as the guy who always has to tell people what they can’t do and can’t spend,” this visionary has wearied of saying “no.”

President Lewis is momentum personified. His life work is testimony to “yes.” When asked, he admits to great satisfaction in having contributed to the expanded scope of optometry, in establishing the Elkins Park campus, enhancing cross-fertilization among the health professions that now comprise Salus University, and in having “changed the paradigm of fundraising” for this institution.

Family Salus

Dr. Lewis sees the faculty, students, staff, and PCO and Salus University alumni as “part of this institution’s family.”

It is important to him that this family has expanded and diversified over the years, crossed disciplines and developed synergies across related healthcare professions. He lauds retiring Dean Robert Horne, vice president for Student Affairs, for his outstanding legacy in minority recruitment, allowing Salus to prepare and graduate more minority students into the optometry profession than all other optometry schools.

And he lauds alumni engagement. Professional institutions are at a disadvantage compared to undergraduate schools when it comes to winning alumni loyalty. “They’re not a lot of fun,” explained Dr. Lewis. “No football teams, mascots, or fraternities, plus you come out with a lot of debt.” But, the success of a profession is in part dependent on the success of the academic institutions that feed it. “An alma mater is its alumni.”

Dr. Lewis values alumni engagement in many ways, not limited to traditional fundraising. He appreciates and thanks PCO and Salus alumni for improving the institution by recommending potential students, serving as mentors and preceptors, advising, lecturing and offering other forms of support. “In that sense,” said Dr. Lewis, “you are what your family members are.”

Evidence-based science would attest to a robust trajectory under the leadership of anatomy professor, department chair, dean, vice president and soon-to-be former President Lewis. “I get all the accolades, which is nice, but I didn’t do it,” he demurred. “All of the people here did it.”

Tom Lewis, the student days: 1966 – 1970

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SPRING 2012

AN INTERVIEW WITH PRESIDENT LEWIS

The entire healthcare delivery system has also changed dramatically within the lifetime of today’s retirement generation. Tom Lewis recalled when healthcare was paid for directly by patients, and practitioners “could make a good living seeing 8-12 patients a day.”

These days, with healthcare reimbursements controlled by insurers, practitioners feel forced to see more people in a much shorter time. He noted that today’s students expect to see 25-30 patients a day, a change that would have been considered “crazy” when he came out of school.

Dr. Thomas L. Lewis, professor

Professions Evolve; So Does Education

About the optometry career for which Dr. Lewis trained and into which he graduated in 1970, he remarked, “That … doesn’t exist anymore. It has become a whole different profession.”

Continuing with optometry as an example of dramatic change in the healthcare professions over the past 30 years, Dr. Lewis noted that today’s practice of optometry includes being skilled “to diagnose and treat different diseases of the eye and to perform minor surgical procedures and services.”

He added, “Optometrists are perceived by the public very differently than we were some years ago. We’re truly an integral part of healthcare delivery.” What this means to today’s students, is that “the whole emphasis of [their] education is different.”

This means that current and future practitioners need a lot more assistance – both in terms of human support and equipment, in order to provide good care, Dr. Lewis explained. That translates into developing more “physician extenders,” such as physician assistants, occupational therapists, rehabilitation specialists and others in the professions for which Salus now educates and trains students.

“I’m very bullish on these professions and where they’re going,” he said about the degree programs at Salus. “I think their futures are bright.”

From Teaching to Administration and then, perhaps, Back Again?

What were the qualities that made anatomy professor Tom Lewis such an extraordinary teacher and twice honored Professor of the Year?

“Taking something that’s complicated and making it simple,” he said, without missing a beat. “I used to spend hours and hours preparing a 50-minute lecture… You tell yourself, there are four things the students need to remember from it. Tell them the four things at the start, and remind them at the end. The rest of the stuff is the infrastructure that supports those four points.”

Explaining the expanded scope of practice for optometrists and his national activism, Dr. Lewis said, “Back in the 1970s, a person living in a rural area might have to travel 40 -50 miles to be seen by an ophthalmologist to treat something like pink eye.” There was an enormous “unmet need” in underserved areas of the country. He believes that “in legislatively-mandated professions, when the law prohibits qualified professionals from meeting unmet need, the law has to be changed.”

PCO Honor Society 1969.

Third year student Tom Lewis is third from right, middle row.

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Professor Lewis requested 8 a.m. classes, so he could come in at 7 a.m. to create and extensively label his multi-colored chalk drawings on the blackboard. He knew his subject and stayed current with the literature. He also loved teaching, was enthusiastic – and put himself in his students’ faces.

Dr. Lewis thought seriously about not taking the presidency position because of his reluctance to leave teaching.

So what convinced him?

“I thought I could have more impact – more quickly and more effectively. Unless you’re at a decision-making point in any process, you don’t really have an opportunity to influence the process.”

He’s leaving open the option of returning to the classroom after stepping down from administration, as he continues to lecture nationally and internationally. Classroom technology has changed, and he wonders if he can be as effective in the absence of chalk dust.

Money and the Man

“It’s going to come out as sounding crass, but it’s the truth: Being the president of a college or university today is all about one word: money. Where are the resources coming from?

The world of higher education we live in today is no longer the sheltered environment of academia. This institution is a $40 million a year business,” explained Dr. Lewis.

President Lewis takes pride in having changed the dynamics of fundraising for PCO/Salus. Prior to when he assumed office, the largest major campaign had aspired to $350,000.

During his presidency, fundraising transformed into multimillion dollar accomplishments.

Dr. Lewis takes the financial health of his institution “more personally than others. I look at this as my family. When you ask me for money to do something, it’s like it’s coming out of my wallet.” “The Board would be kind and call me frugal.

The staff would say I’m cheap. I probably am,” he smiled.

“When you grow up in Pennsylvania Dutch country, cheap is the status quo – cheap is good.”

But this president doesn’t believe in robbing programs to be able to boast a surplus. “It’s always a balance between spending money appropriately but not being stupid about it,” he clarifies. Having come to the presidency through academic positions, first as professor of anatomy, then a department chair and then dean of academic affairs, Dr. Lewis fully understood academic issues. So in his first months as CEO, he turned to finances. He sat down with the new CFO, Patrick Sweeney (who retired in 2009 after twenty years of service) for eight hours each day, going through the budget “line by line, expense through expense,” until “I knew where every penny was going and every penny was coming.”

He explains that the president can focus on the resources end of things “if you have the right provost or, in our case, VP for Academic Affairs.” And he has felt comfortable leaving the academics to Anthony Di Stefano, OD ’73, MPH. “I may have bitten my tongue sometimes, but I have never second-guessed him.” He called his partnership with Dr. Di Stefano “the key relationship” in his presidency. “We are so different. People marvel that we have co-existed. We have opposite personalities and styles, but that’s really why we’ve been successful… He’s extremely bright, talented, creative. There’s no question that we would not be where we are without his brilliance.”

Surprise!

As chief administrator, Dr. Lewis committed to knowing his organization from the inside out, and having his hand continually on its pulse. Surprises therefore, have been few and far between. He called finding the Elkins Park campus “a surprise” however, and credits acting upon it to a “stroke President Lewis in full academic regalia at the Audiology commencement, 2010.

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SPRING 2012

AN INTERVIEW WITH PRESIDENT LEWIS

Another is “Never react quickly in angry response to something.” Dr. Lewis said he dictated a lot of letters that he allowed to stew on his desk for a couple of days before tearing them up. “Think longer,” advises the once-upon-a-time redhead.

A lesson to apply when people find themselves at an impasse over an issue, is to try “to put yourself in their seat and not take offense at their initial reaction,” President Lewis said.

Considering how he would react if he were in the other person’s position has helped him negotiate through many contentious situations.

Dr. Lewis, chatting with students in the Hafter Student Community Center student lounge.

of genius,” enhanced by support from the Board of Trustees and a successful fundraising campaign.

With the decreasing effectiveness of the old Oak Lane facilities to expand and meet the needs of the Pennsylvania College of Optometry, Dr. Lewis had been exploring opportunities to affiliate or form strategic partnerships with other institutions.

Despite coming very close, nothing had materialized.

One day he noticed a flyer in the mail from a local realtor, announcing the availability of an Elkins Park property, located three miles from the Oak Lane campus. Within the hour he was scouting the property in person. “I can make this into a campus,” he realized.

He met with the Board, where Carl Polsky, Esq.(then vicechair and current Board member) told the Board the property was “a great opportunity.” Dr. Lewis and several trustees traveled to Manhattan to meet with the bank handling the $25 million bankruptcy that meant the property was being offered for $11.9 million. They negotiated the sale down to $9.45 million. That sale and those three miles, made the difference between “night and day. It’s a different world,” reflected Dr. Lewis. “Students and their parents are happy about this campus and its location.”

Family Lewis

Dr. Lewis inherited his formidable work ethic from his parents, whose formal educations ceased after eighth grade.

Yet, he recalled, there wasn’t a moment in his household growing up when it wasn’t assumed that he and his sister would graduate from college. He spoke of his mother “sewing in a sweat shop” and describes the night his father suffered from an agonizing gall bladder attack, then rose, showered, went to work at 6:30 a.m. and worked a full day.

The young Tom Lewis worked his way through an undergraduate and two doctoral degrees.

Dr. Lewis met Harriet Thatcher when they were both in seventh grade. Their marriage is approaching 46 years and thriving.

Imagine a non-golfing wife who actually encourages her husband to spend time on the golf course as often as possible.

Maybe that’s the reason they’re so successful, he joked.

Dr. Lewis described Harriet as independent, structured and “often as impatient as I am.” The retired high school teacher runs “an impeccable home,” and together they’re the proud parents of “two adult children and ’almost five’ grandchildren.”

Lessons Learned

Twenty-three years can teach a lot of lessons to someone as open to learning and thinking as Dr. Lewis.

“No good deed goes unpunished,” is one of his favorites.

“You can agonize over a decision for months, and then when you finally decide to do it, the response is the opposite of what you expect. With some people, no matter what you do, they’re never satisfied. Others are thrilled with any little gesture. Or you make what you think is a benign decision, and produce an uproar. You just can’t anticipate human reactions to things,” mused this leader with a national reputation for seeing around corners and down the road.

In a Christmas Eve 2011 photo, Dr. and Mrs. Lewis are shown with grandchildren Ryan (5), Caitlin (4), and Lindsay (7) Lewis. The children’s parents are son, Tracy, and his wife, Alison, who added a fourth grandchild, Trey Thomas, on December 29.

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Looking Back and Ahead

President Lewis said one of the biggest ongoing challenges facing an institution, is resources “in the broadest sense.”

He spoke about the value of human resources – competent, talented people, at all levels – and the difficulty in finding these people, though he admitted that might seem counterintuitive in these tough economic times. And he wondered to what extent the old-fashioned concept of a “calling” speaks to younger generations.

“There’s no such thing as a perfect employee, especially myself,” quipped Dr. Lewis, pegging one more lesson from his presidency.

Here’s a leader who does things “because they make a difference; because they’re important.”

And the most “fun part” of his job is “seeing the outcomes… seeing programs that get developed and that work, the student success stories…watching an employee or faculty member be successful, and having impact in the community.”

The positive impact of Dr. Thomas Lewis – and his imprint on this institution and the profession – won’t be ending in June.

(Above and below, left) Dr. Lewis and students celebrating PCO’s showing in the Varilux Quiz Bowl championship at the American Optometric Association annual meeting, Washington DC, June 2007. Second place winner, Joseph Keaney, OD ’11, is in the yellow shirt.

Dr. Lewis with daughter, Heather Long, at the groundbreaking ceremony for The “new” Eye Institute. She and her husband, Fred, are expecting their first child this month.

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THE ALUMNI MAGAZINE OF SALUS UNIVERSITY

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SPRING 2012

Class Notes for Dr. Lewis In February, alumni were invited to share their good wishes to and stories about Dr. Lewis. All messages and photos received by April 27 will be put into a keepsake notebook for Dr. Lewis to enjoy.

(Notes for Dr. Lewis can be sent to pshelly@salus.edu, or Peggy Shelly, Salus University, 8360 Old York Road, Elkins Park, PA 19027).

Edmund Burdick, OD ’69: I was a faculty member at PCO from the fall of 1969 through the summer of 1972. I taught ocular pathology and clinical optometry. We had just moved into the new building in Oak Lane and the pathology slides I had inherited from previous professors and donations were in disarray. Tom Lewis was a student assistant to me and worked with me for months getting them organized so I could easily select the ones I needed for my lectures. I often wondered if that may have sparked some of his interest in ocular pathology and teaching. He was sharp in the subject at that time and soon went way beyond my abilities. I have been proud of him all of these years.

’60s

Jim Tribbett, OD ’69: Yes, I remember little Tommy, tho’ a bit taller than me. He became a buddy of Dr. Rybachok, was a great student, and saw the light that most of us missed. Off to study health, which was fortunate for all of us in the long run.

It has been an honor to know him and see him encourage the profession to mature along with him.

In the late 2000’s, when the AOA Annual convention was held in Washington, D.C., Dr. Lewis and I did a theatrical take down hug and kiss covered in sweat – when the 99 degrees Farenheit room for our Alumni reception could hold only 100 people and 400 people showed up!

Other than the above embarrassments, I have always been proud to claim Dr. Tom Lewis as a colleague and friend.

Hopefully, Optometry has not truly lost him to the retirement life of bubble baths and Show Biz magazines!

Optometry, optometric education, international optometry, and ultimately the patients in the various clinics have all benefited from your leadership.

Enjoy your well-earned retirement, but I suspect you will contribute to optometry in some new capacity.

Robert A. Davis, OD ’70: Tom and I were in the same class at PCO and he sat very near me. I can remember many times when he seemed fast asleep in class. He must have been listening, because he always had all the right answers. It has been my pleasure to know Tom for close to 50 years now. Watching him grow and lead our profession has been an inspiration to me and the way I practice. Please wish Tom all the best and tell him, when in Florida to come boating with me.

David A. Rosenbloom, OD ’70, FAAO: I am a fellow classmate of Tom’s from the Class of 1970. We were the last class to use the old PCO buildings, and the first class to use the apartment house. We were the only class to have to live for months in the Sylvania Hotel in downtown Philly, while the apartment building was being completed, needing to take a bus every morning and night to and from downtown. We are the only class (I think) for which the school provided a Beer and Hotdog Mixer so that we could meet woman from Bryn Mawr and Temple (I actually met my wife at that mixer!). These experiences cemented our class together and why we are especially proud of what our classmate accomplished. I personally want to thank Tom, for expanding our licenses, for the advancement in Optometry education, for enlarging our campus and in the University designation. Not too shabby for our tallest classmate!

Bev Miller, OD ’75: In the late 1990’s when Dr. Lewis came to Baltimore to raise funds for PCO, he joined me at an Orioles Baseball Game covered in poison ivy.

’50s

Roy F. Anderson, OD ’58, FAAO Dear Dr. Tom Lewis: Wow – what a career in optometry you have had! It is hard for anyone to match a total of forty six years of service to PCO and Salus University. Twenty three of those years were as president. No other optometry college has sponsored a university. You had the vision for that transition and made it happen.

Taras “Ted” Spivak, OD ’70: After looking at all three pictures of Dr. Lewis (sent with the invitation to send a message), I am of the opinion that he’s just as ugly now as he was when we went to school together!

Barry Farkas, OD ’71, FAAO, Salus University Board member: I will remain forever grateful to Dr. Lewis for so impressively expanding my vocabulary in academia, in the Boardroom, but especially on the golf course. We couldn’t have asked for a better ’Captain’ or a better friend.

’70s

Joel A. Silbert, OD ’73, FAAO, Dipl., professor, director, Cornea & Specialty Contact Lens Service, The Eye Institute: Dear Tom, Congratulations on your retirement as president of Salus University! I am so proud to have known you for some 40 years, both as a colleague as well as a friend, and I could not have been more pleased than to have you at the helm of PCO these many years. We have been through some tough times, but under your leadership and foresight PCO has retained its preeminence among optometric institutions, now with marvelous new buildings at the main Elkins Park Campus as well as The new Eye Institute.

But much more than the buildings, you have forged a close-knit faculty and have expanded our mission to include many additional health care disciplines under the flag of Salus University. You have exercised outstanding fiscal oversight to keep the university in good financial shape over these many years, and yet you have been able to get funding to bring this independent institution to great distinction, both here in the US as well as worldwide with our many international initiatives.

It has been a privilege to have worked with you during your years as clinical leader at The Eye Institute, as well as all the subsequent years at the helm of the University.

Tom Marino, OD ’70: Tom was my classmate, lab partner in chem class, sat in front of me for four years in lecture classes. Tom always had a problem with staying awake in class. Nevertheless, when it came to test time, his grades were always superior. I finally figured it out – he was just a very bright guy. Best wishes and a great retirement.

Don Teig, OD ’70, FAAO: As a classmate of Tom’s, I remember him to be very bright, but a low key, modest, nice guy, who didn’t toot his own horn. Not many remember this, but I knew Tom to be a pretty decent basketball player as well. I have great memories of some “down and dirty” full court games that we played in. All the best to you, Tom, as you turn the next page of your life. You are proof that “nice guys can finish first!!”

Edward V. Cordes, OD ’77, FAAO: Congratulations on your retirement from Pennsylvania College of Optometry and Salus University. It seems like only yesterday you were a clinical associate (in 1973) working at the Spring Garden Clinic and helped me, as a student, pick out a frame for sunglasses. Since then you have made a tremendous contribution to PCO and Optometry. Through your leadership both the University and the profession have advanced beyond what many thought possible 31/2 decades ago.

Thank you.

Enjoy your sabbatical, and hopefully we will see you still teaching classes here at PCO! With warm wishes, Joel

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Joseph Shovlin, OD ’80, FAAO, adjunct clinical faculty: Tom: Wishing you the very best on leaving the presidency. Please know how grateful we are for your tenacious efforts and tireless energy on behalf of the institution you have served admirably for over four decades, and the profession of optometry. You are an inspiration and role model for all of your students, friends and colleagues. I want you to know how much I will miss you. I have a hunch you’re always going to remain fully committed to the profession, even with your retirement from Salus. I personally hope that’s the case. Again, best wishes to you and Harriet as you step down. It’s time to get that golf game in order!

Your Friend, Joe Shovlin Blaine Littlefield, OD ’83: Dr. Lewis was my glaucoma mentor. You could tell he loved to teach. Every once in a while you get one of those teachers who just inspire you to learn. Such was the case for me with Dr Lewis. He just had that little something that transforms a teacher into a mentor. I will always remember what he taught me and his teachings still influence me today and everyday as I treat my glaucoma patients.

Rebecca Hutchins, OD ’84: When I was at PCO – it probably was 1982 or 1983 – I helped Tom Lewis do the Middle States Assessment or some such official evaluation. I had a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in English prior to optometry school, and had worked with Low Vision in writing grants, with Audrey Smith and Tony Di Stefano. In any case, Tom knew I could edit, so I worked with him on this project. I found it interesting and fun. I never realized how much he appreciated it until, years later, when he came out west to give a TPA class. He told me that when he had to do it again (I guess four years later), it was much more difficult without my help. I was actually surprised he even remembered me among all the students he sees year after year.

’80s

Drs. Alessi and Katherine (Klenotich) Rispoli, PCO Class of 1984: Here is our “story” for Dr. Lewis: We have to credit Dr. Lewis as one of the reasons for our successful practice (his great teaching – an obvious choice) and our 28-year marriage (not so obvious!).

Al and I, along with the other class officers Mitch Corey, Ron Andino, Tom Dorrity, Ralph Garzio and Eric Selvey, spent many hours discussing our Pharmacology course during our first year. We were persuaded by Glenn Corbin, Student Council president, and many third and fourth year students to boycott the pharmacology course when, after seeing patients in the clinic, they realized the instruction they received was lacking. We all met with Dr. Lewis, along with Dr. Wolfberg many times to discuss this matter. Of course, our class officers had many meetings and got to know each other VERY well. We probably gave Dr. Lewis a lot of stress, but it definitely brought our class a LOT closer. One of our classmates broke the boycott, and Dr. Lewis convinced all of the Class of 1984 to go back to class. Dr. Lewis, Dr. Wolfberg and the administration kept their promise of an excellent pharmacology course when they had professors from Jefferson Medical College teach us the next semester.

Chrystyna Rakoczy, OD ’84: Dear Tom, Thanks for your dedication and for being such a great mentor. I wish you all the best!

Annette Zamboni-Werner, OD ’89 and Joe Werner, OD ’88: When I was a student at PCO (1985-1989), I worked in the Admission/Financial Office and got to know Dr. Lewis. He had gone to Delaware Valley College, also my undergraduate institution, so there was an instant kinship. After graduating from PCO, my husband and I had the opportunity to attend various CE courses in Hawaii, Barbados and St. Martin. Dr. Lewis was also in attendance. I’ve included a photo of us in Barbados. Dr. Lewis was a great contributor to the growth of PCO and of Optometry itself. Thank you for your many years of service to our profession. All the best to you.

Sandy Bozich Deselle, OD ’90: Dear Tom, I was the president of our class when you were appointed president of PCO. I remember being involved in the selection process.

Those of us who were students and on the selection committee actually got a voice. That was a life lesson that shaped who I am today. I didn’t really know it then, as I was a very young and very naive 23 year old with nothing but potential, but it left a lasting impression on me about how to be a leader, and how to affect change.

’90s

I imagine that you have seen that in your students all these years now…promise, potential, hope. It seems as if you never lost sight of the young lives that you help to shape into productive, participatory, respectable, and competent doctors. You have represented PCO so extremely well and I have been very proud of the school, and now the University, under your leadership. Your vision has transformed Optometry into a better profession than it was when you entered it. For all of that I thank you.

I wish you well in your next endeavor. I have no doubt that you will find success and meaning for yourself and probably many others. You have so much more to give and I am certain that we haven’t seen the last of you!!

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Tony Diecidue, OD ’87: I was always impressed by the fact that he always knew who I was, even years after graduation and always made time to say hello when we were at the same meetings. It also impressed me when he took a class I taught on learning how to use Windows in the early ’90s. It showed he had the desire to keep up with technology.

We will always be grateful for Dr. Lewis and PCO for giving us a great pharmacology education – and also for giving Al and I an opportunity to be together so much our freshman year. We’ve got a great practice and two great children, Alessa and Joe, as a result! Thanks, Dr. Lewis. Enjoy your free time!!

So that is my little anecdote about Tom Lewis.

Florian M. Safner, OD ’90: Dear Dr. Lewis, I wanted to personally thank you for your support and belief in me. I will never forget the influencing conversation you had with me in the summer of 1986. Thank you for inspiring my career in Optometry. I wish you all the best.

Lynn Watt Kurata, OD ’83, FAAO: I wanted to congratulate Dr. Lewis on his wellearned retirement. He is such a dedicated, hardworking advocate for the profession of Optometry. I remember telling him during my interview process for entrance into PCO that I needed an answer ASAP as to whether I would be accepted, as I was already accepted elsewhere. He was able to give me a decision fairly quickly. This was the beginning of my relationship with PCO – and many fond memories of having him as an encouraging teacher and mentor. Whenever he was on the West Coast, he would try to touch base with former students as myself. I want to thank Dr. Lewis for being a part of shaping me into the optometrist that I am today. Congratulations Dr. Lewis!

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Pat Weiss: As a retired employee of Salus University (formerly PCO when I worked there), I had the pleasure of working indirectly with Tom. He always had a great laugh and a terrific smile.

When he heard I was going to retire he said “What are you doing?” I took that as a great compliment. I wish him the best in all of his future endeavors.

SPRING 2012

Raphael Eschmann, MSc ’97: Tom Lewis The great professional per se, the utmost competent teacher and mentor, the far seeing and vigilant president of Salus University, the leader in professional associations, THE ambassador of the Optometric profession on an international scale.

It was during a post graduate course offered by the Pennsylvania College of Optometry that myself and other colleagues had an hour to get to know Tom Lewis. Who, in October 1996, would have thought at that time, that so many interesting moments would be ahead – work as well, as a matter of fact.

Tom, being generous in supporting ideas and monitoring things while on the road, has always been – in a respectful way – demanding in an honest and good way, never asking more than is possible. This was and still is one of his many strong points, leading to enduring results, not in personal priorities but for the good of the community, the profession. The track and way to achievement are the goal and aim! Permanent alertness of what could be next, continuing evaluation of what could be best in education and thus for the patient – this is what Tom, with his excellent staff all these years, has understood is necessary to implement in our field of Optometry.

One of the highlights I was privileged to share with Tom was to plan, organize and then execute “Academy ’02 in the Alps”, the international meeting of the AAO in Berne and Munich with Loïs Schoenbrun and Wolfgang Cagnolati! It was a great experience for many US participants and their colleagues in the German speaking part of Europe. One of the highpoints was the candlelight dinner at the ancient ballroom of the Hotel Kursaal Interlaken/ Switzerland, with the original soundtrack orchestra playing the themes of the movie “Titanic”…

Well, Tom, in the name of many alumni throughout the world, and the many participants at the different meetings for continuing education you have put your hallmark on, we all thank you so much for all you did for us. We are grateful for all your personal efforts, your generous friendship and your mentoring. To get to know you in the way that I have and to maintain a personal connection with you was – and still is – a privilege. Thank you so much!

Valerie Kriney, AuD ’03: Dear Dr. Lewis: Thank you for making PCO (Salus University) a special place for my family. I received my Doctor of Audiology degree in January, 2003. My primary motivation for choosing PCO over other programs was based on the fact that my uncle, Leon J. Pinto, OD, graduated in the Class of 1942, my cousin, the late Anthony LeDonne, OD, graduated in the Class of 1951, and another cousin of mine, James Bozzuto, OD, graduated in the Class of 1982. I am enclosing a photo of the four of us, taken a few years ago.

’00s ’10s

(L to R): Raphael Eschmann, Tom Lewis and Wolfgang Cagnolati, at the occasion of the AAOMeeting when the decision was made to organize an International Meeting in Central Europe.

Althea Rhoden Grey, AuD ’07: Dear Dr. Lewis, As I look at my Salus diploma, I see your signature “Thomas L. Lewis, OD, PhD,” over the president’s line. As I look at my graduation pictures, I see you shaking my hand with heartfelt congratulations. Even though my association with you is small, I am still grateful to you and to Dr. Osborne for your commitment to having the distance Audiology program here at Salus University.

I want to congratulate you on your many years of giving to others through your teaching and your commendable presidency here at the University.

As you venture into the world of retirement, please remember that retirement is only a state of mind…

I do not envision you lazing around, but I envision you sharpening your mind on one project after another, albeit at a slower pace!

Again, congratulations on an earthly job well done – and I pray that you will have many more years to rest, relax and just enjoy life with family and friends.

Christina Huth (Tu) Keshava, OD ’05: The Rotary International president recently said, “The gold standard of great leadership is being the kind of leader about whom every Rotarian in your district says, ’You know, if I am ever a district governor, I’d want to be a district governor just like him (or her).’” When I read this comment, it made me think immediately of Dr. Lewis. I remember sitting in our lab group discussions with him as a student, where he would ask us how we were doing and how things could be changed to make our education better. I can still see him writing our comments down on his small notepad. It always amazed me that he really seemed to care and tried to cross as many items off that list as he could. When I was unsure of Optometry as a profession, he provided opportunities for me to see Optometry outside of PCO, so that I could make a more educated decision. Knowing that there were optometrists like him made my decision easier. As president, Dr. Lewis helped move Salus/PCO into the twenty-first century, creating an institution we can all be proud of today. I am going to miss Dr. Lewis incredibly at alumni events, but he will always be a part of my life as I remember his leadership, his commitment and his smile.

Caryn Lockspeiser, AuD ’10: Even though I have never met Dr. Lewis, I would like to thank him for his foresight in supporting the development of the Osborne College of Audiology and providing working audiologists like myself with a top quality distance learning program. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to earn my AuD from a prestigious institution of higher learning like PCO, and I appreciate all the hard work and planning that I am sure he was involved in to make the program happen. Best Wishes.

Rafeal Franji, MSc ’10: I was a student in the international optometry program for a master’s degree. Dr Lewis taught us glaucoma in Israel. He is a great teacher with a lot of passion. Thank you, Dr. Lewis, for this. I wish you good luck in the future.

No doubt, we have all had successful careers in our chosen fields. This would not have been possible without dedicated presidents such as you. Thank you!!

Kimberly Lee, OD ’10: Dr. Lewis, You were one of the first persons I met when I came to visit the campus. You were actually the person who interviewed me!

At the time, I didn’t know who you were.

It was only during the first day of orientation that I realized you were the president of Salus University.

I admired that you cared enormously about our school, even to personally conducting interviews! You are a great role model to everyone. I want to thank you for giving me such a great first – and lasting – impression of the school and its people, and I wish you well in your future endeavors.

Cara Reitnauer, OD ’10: Dr. Lewis: During my years at PCO (’06-’10) it was clear that you worked hard to support the profession of Optometry. You made our school one of the best and have influenced many students during our educational journey. I’ve always appreciated how you reached out to us students and made us feel very important by even simply greeting us in the halls. The socials that you held were one of my favorite memories at PCO. I wish you the best in your future endeavors! Thank you very much.

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Anthony Adams, OD, PhD, FAAO, dean emeritus, Optometry, UC Berkeley: Tom Lewis is retiring. What can a good friend say, other than, "Why have you taken so long to take my advice?"

Tom, you have been a very good friend and close professional colleague for most of my professional life. We have served the optometry profession side by side on many occasions – you always serving better. I flash back to those Board meetings (Academy, ASCO, NBEO and others) and the many times we simply “chewed the fat.” You are a special friend and I admire your leadership skills and willingness to engage in so many worthwhile causes in the profession. The College, and now the University, has been most fortunate to capture your leadership for so long.

On the other hand, there are many who have suffered. Like from really bad jokes, excessive golf skills as an opponent, and as travel colleagues (e.g., to Australia in the late 1990s, where my relatives had to put up with you and Jerry Strickland!).

Tom, stay close to your friends and even redouble your impressive energies with your grandchildren. They need you! All grandchildren need their grandparents.

Don’t ride off into the sunset, just cut back on the jokes.

Dan Abramowicz, EVP – Technology and Regulatory Affairs, Crown Holdings; Salus University Board member: Tom, I’ve considered it a privilege to work closely with you on the PCO and Salus Board of Trustees for over 10 years. During that time, I have been impressed with your leadership in many ways. In fact, I regard you as an instinctive leader, one who naturally knows the right thing to do in nearly every case. However, what has impressed me most about you is your dedication and drive for continuous improvement in an organization that is already world-class.

You seem to intuitively realize that staying still is moving backwards, and your resulting vision and leadership have moved the school forward on every front.

Tom, I certainly wish you the best as you enjoy a well-deserved retirement, but I selfishly hope you return often so that we can continue to benefit from your wisdom and dedication.

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Mark W. Eger, OD, FAAO, immediate past-president, American Academy of Optometry: While I am not a PCO alumnus myself, my ties to the institution have always made me feel like I am. My father, Elmer, was a graduate in the 1940’s and my son in the 1990’s. I have an uncle and three cousins who are also PCO alumni. Why not me? That’s another story for another time. I want to tell the story of how Tom Lewis and I got to know each other, and how much I admire him.

It all began with the American Academy of Optometry. My father was a private practitioner in a small town in western PA, and graduated at a time when there really hadn’t been a scientific base established for the profession he had chosen. Having an inquisitive mind and wanting to distance himself from the jewelry store optometry practiced at the time, he was drawn to the opportunities for life-long learning that the Academy offered. He made the right choice and he influenced me to become a Fellow of the Academy as soon as I joined him in practice (as he would later do when his grandson Noah joined me in the practice he founded some fifty years earlier).

It wasn’t long after I became a Fellow that he convinced me to become involved with the volunteer structure of the organization by sitting on the Committee on Admittance. After a few years on the committee, I was promoted to the position of national vice-chair and that is when I began to interact with Tom Lewis. Tom was very active in the Academy as well, and it wouldn’t be long before he was elected to the Board of Directors of the Academy. By that time I had gotten to know Tom better and realized that we both shared a passion outside of optometry – golf. Many a friendship has had its genesis on the links, and ours was a prime example. Golf gives one the opportunity to observe the true character of an individual, and while Tom is quite the character, it was soon evident to me that his character was quite exceptional. I was pleased that my son would attend PCO with Tom as a role model, and I was pleased to have Tom as a friend and mentor. It was Tom who put meaning and purpose into my professional life, when he recommended me to the nominating committee of the Academy. While I didn’t think it was realistic to think that a private practitioner from Coraopolis, PA would likely be selected by that committee, I didn’t realize how influential Tom was. Not only was I selected, but I was elected, and then had an opportunity to witness first-hand the leadership skills and the people skills that Tom possessed.

It is no wonder that PCO has flourished with Tom at the helm. My years spent on the board of the Academy with Tom are my most memorable and most meaningful. Never will I be able to thank him enough for the faith he had in me and the guidance he so thoughtfully shared with me. As I finish my last year as the immediate past-president of the Academy, I can truly say that I couldn’t have done it without Tom. I also know that there are many others who share this sentiment.

My life is better by having known Tom. I just wish I could say the same for my golf game. Now that he will have the time, I’m hoping he will devote himself to that too. I wish Tom all the best in his retirement and am grateful that our paths crossed when they did. I look forward to many more golf rounds in the years to come with my friend Tom. All the best to him. He deserves it.

Arol Augsberger, OD, president, Illinois College of Optometry: Best wishes to Tom Lewis, a real Renaissance man in optometry, on the occasion of his retirement. He not only has an outstanding track record of leadership in one of our venerable institutions of optometric education, now called Salus University, but also has been one of the key molders of our profession.

He has done this through his service on countless think tank commissions; his advocacy/testimonies on behalf of the enhancement of state optometric practice acts around the country, and his election to the office of president for such influential organizations as the American Academy of Optometry, the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry, and the National Board of Examiners of Optometry.

Little of substance has happened in optometry during the last 30 years which did not have the fingerprints of Tom Lewis on it. We will miss his steady hand.

John P. Herman, OD, FAAO: Tom is one of the rare people who has combined intellectual pursuits in a field and has also topped the field in administration, while also giving significant time to the academic backbone of optometry, the American Academy of Optometry. To think that he has built Salus University from a small, independent college of Optometry during his tenure is truly remarkable, especially with largely private funding.

Carol and I extend our best to a great man for a well-earned peaceful and relaxing retirement. The excuse of no time to work on the golf game is now gone, so bring cash when we play in the future.

George King: Tom: It was great pleasure working with you when I headed PCO’s development staff, especially as fundraising consultant for the campus move to Elkins Park. (And I enjoyed our time together playing golf.) You and your key faculty and staff members deserve great praise for creating the vision for the formation of Salus University and making it a reality. Without the outstanding leadership you provided, it is difficult to imagine how such a dramatic success could have taken place. Best wishes on your retirement. Maybe now you have time to improve your golf game before the slippery slope of aging overtakes you as it already has done to me!

Steven H. Eyler, OD, FAAO: Though I am not a PCO Alum, I would have to consider PCO my second alma mater, because of my close professional relationship with Dr. Lewis. Here are some heartfelt comments regarding Tom. Dr. Tom Lewis represents the highest level at which our profession performs. Whether it be at the National Board of Examiners in Optometry Board’s table; a cutting edge think-tank session in North Carolina (at Dr. Robinson’s request); the hallways or the trenches of an American Academy of Optometry meeting; or masterfully purring a 3-iron from 190, making the birdie putt and then taking our money, Tom always brings his “A” game. I consider myself blessed to call Dr. Tom Lewis a friend, mentor and colleague; he is one of the best that Optometry has ever called its own.

THE ALUMNI MAGAZINE OF SALUS UNIVERSITY

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SPRING 2012

BY ANN RAPPOPORT

A Legacy in Student Affairs: Dean Horne After 36 years of service at PCO and Salus University, vice president and dean of Student Affairs Robert E. Horne, MS plans to retire on June 30, 2012. Dean Horne was interviewed in February.

“Whatever you do, you’ve got to stop and think about the potential impact on students,” was the advice of the late Dr. John Crozier, recalled Dean Horne of the mentor and predecessor who hired him in 1976.

Indeed. During Dean Horne’s tenure, students have transformed and thrived. Student leadership opportunities flourished at many levels, providing them with experiences in service, governance and professional organizations, thereby enhancing their professional proficiency. Under his leadership, PCO also won renown for successfully recruiting and graduating more minority students than its fellow optometry schools. Salus graduates continue to uphold and extend the reputation of the University.

Yet, the man who has spent his career “caring about students and what they deal with on a daily basis,” once stood on the brink of becoming a career athlete or a government bureaucrat.

Back Story

Robert Horne grew up in Washington, D.C. “I had parents who were extremely hard-working common folk, who put us in a neighborhood where people pulled together. You cared about everybody in the community.”

In contrast, he confesses, “My idea was I can work, make money, get my own apartment, car, the usual.

“But the guys I worked with at the White House were older, and they said to me, ’We’re not telling you you’ve got to go to school. We’re just not going to make it comfortable to work here if you don’t.’”

At Bowling Green University, Robert Horne became an AllAmerican in track and field, competing as a sprinter and setting a national record. “I ran with most of the guys who went to the 1968 Olympics,” he recalled, as if that explained the national record. He majored in accounting since he loved numbers, and continued working at the EOB on the federal budget during semester breaks.

His entry into Student Affairs followed commencement, when he became assistant to the dean of students at Bowling Green while earning a master’s degree in higher education administration.

Spending time crunching numbers taught him how much he missed interacting with people. Robert Horne shuns routine, which he calls “boring,” preferring “people work,” complete with its unpredictability. He explained, “I need to come to work and have my day planned, and have it go straight to hell when I walk in the door.”

Starting in eighth grade, Robert Horne ran every day. He was into cross country and he was competitive.

In high school, the youth qualified for a summer internship program under the Kennedy administration. He spent one summer as a messenger in the White House Executive Office Building (EOB), returning as a college student to work in publications, pulling bills and budget documents, and even driving for federal budget director, Charlie Schultze.

Contemplating college, Mr. Horne had “a suitcase full” of scholarships from which to choose. “My parents never said I had to go to school. But my mother, in her own way said, ’You know, a lot of people don’t have the opportunity that you have.’”

Dean Robert Horne, vice president of Student Affairs, 2012

A very young assistant dean of Student Affairs

Robert Horne, PCO assistant dean of Student Affairs and director of Minority Affairs, is flanked

by National Optometric Association (NOA) founding members, Dr. John Howlette (left) and Dr. C. Clayton Powell (right) during their visit to The Eye Institute. Dr. Howlette is the great-uncle of PCO alumna Dr. Mia Fripps ’10.

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Dean Horne with student government leaders in 2008 (left to right): Mia Fripps, OD ’10; Kimberly (Basilio) Ginsberg, AuD ’11; Daniel Baruffi, OD ’10; Adam Palo, OD ’11; Alissa Coyne, OD ’10 and Khanh Nghi Trinh, OD ’10.

Beyond Minorities

Tuning into the needs of all students – not only minorities – has been the hallmark of Dean Horne’s tenure. In doing so, he has never forgotten advice from Dr. Crozier. “John constantly reminded us that things were not always black and white, that there were many shades of grey. There might be other ways of looking at something.”

Mr. Horne said that the year before he came to PCO, the school had enrolled ten minority students. Most of them had left the program before he arrived. He likened the situation to that of a host who invites five guests to dinner, but only serves food to four of them. The new director of Minority Student Affairs recognized that, although the institution had opened its doors, no changes had been made to the “culture of the organization.”

Change began. Things changed down to the slides used in classrooms that had inadvertently depicted diseases of deprivation as racial conditions, he said. Dean Horne credits these positive changes to “a complete institutional commitment, from the president’s office to the lowest paid individual on campus.”

Robert Horne was instrumental in creating the PCO Summer Enrichment Program (SEP) in 1977. Originally funded by the government to support disadvantaged students, this six-week program was continued by the College when government funding ended and, by the early 1980s, its mission had shifted.

In contrast to some lingering misperceptions, today’s SEP draws many of the University’s finest students – from all programs – to its preview of a professional science curriculum. Some of the most well-respected faculty

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members teach SEP classes, bonding with students and serving as advisors. Dean Horne praised the dedication of Drs. Pierrette Dayhaw-Barker, Lorraine Lombardi and Charles Wormington, who have been with the Summer Enrichment Program since its inception, and Dr. Joan Wing, who has taught in the program since her arrival at PCO. “They provide a rigorous, disciplined introduction to a professional curriculum, within a welcoming context that helps students really belong,” said Dean Horne.

“The proof is in the pudding,” he added, pointing to the caliber of the leaders from myriad backgrounds that have entered their professions through SEP. Whither Salus?

Salus is a microcosm, noted Dean Horne. “What you find within this institution reflects what’s external, and what’s going on outside the institution, you’ll find internally.”

He has observed important changes in students, nationwide, over the generations spanning his service. He described today’s students as “extremely bright and motivated,” and noted that, for all their book smarts, these children of “helicopter parents” (he freely admits to being one himself) seem to have trouble “doing life” more than the students of the last decade.

“Students are looking for somebody to listen to them and help them grow,” he explained. Translating that into institutional operations, he said, “We’ve had to adjust.” That has meant the expansion of the student services, tutoring and counseling necessary in order to support successful students and ultimately, successful professionals. Dean Horne believes everyone on campus – faculty, staff, maintenance, security – now have a deeper understanding of their roles in encouraging students and in “becoming listening posts.”

THE ALUMNI MAGAZINE OF SALUS UNIVERSITY

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SPRING 2012

AN INTERVIEW WITH DEAN HORNE

“It’s worth it,” emphasized the dean. “Whatever we can do to support the students in their mission to accomplish this program, we’ve tried to put into the system.”

Dean Horne is pleased to have helped ensure that health professionals do a better job of meeting the needs of all the public, “as opposed to just a segment of the public.”

Having interviewed countless applicants over the years and being the senior administrator responsible for the Offices of Admissions and Registrar, Dean Horne has a comprehensive, holistic view of the entire recruitment process. He said, “It’s not just the responsibility of the folks in admissions to do recruitment. It’s everybody’s responsibility.”

A talented family welcomes Robert Horne’s retirement. He anticipates more visits to his daughter in Maryland, “an incredible teacher,” and his “very talented” daughter in NYC, a recognized actress and singer. He was quick to note the musical talent comes from his wife, Valerie, a former backup singer for McFadden and Whitehead (“Ain’t No Stopping Us Now”) and her father, a bass player “for most of the jazz greats.”

He includes alumni in that message, noting, “Over sixty percent of our optometry students are here because of an experience with an optometrist.”

Whither Dean Horne?

Graduation may be Dean Horne’s favorite part of what he considers his “calling.” He appreciates the hugs, but said there’s more to it than that. At commencements, he remembers back through each student’s progress. He especially likes “to get behind the numbers,” recognizing those students whose “numbers” would not necessarily have predicted their glowing accomplishments. He is proudest of those many students who worked to turn their potential into great success.

Until Robert Ludlum writes a book Dean Horne has yet to read, Corvette clubs may be seeing more of this retiring dean.

Robert Horne has owned a Corvette since he was eighteen, and “enjoys tinkering.” His undetermined agenda also includes “re-building a 50s-era hot rod.”

It was Dean Horne’s goal “to make a difference, to leave this institution a better place” than he found it. He hopes he has done so. Legions of PCO and Salus graduates believe so.

Mia Fripps, OD ’10 gets a congratulatory hug from Dean Horne.

Dean Horne with student government leaders in 2009: Kimberly (Basilio) Ginsberg, AuD ’10; Sherelle McCoy, OD ’10; Teresa Shin, OD ’11; Salima Printer, OD ’10 and James Carson III, ’13OD.

In February, alumni and students were invited to send messages for Dean Horne that will be placed in a keepsake notebook for him. To have your message included, please send it no later than April 27 to pshelly@salus.edu or mail to Peggy Shelly, Salus University, 8360 Old York Road, Elkins Park, PA 19027.

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University News In January, University Board of Trustees Chair Jo Surpin announced the selection of Isaacson, Miller, a national executive search firm specializing in higher education leadership searches, to assist with the Board’s search for the University’s new president. Periodic updates about the process are posted on the University’s website at: www.salus.edu/presidentialSearch/index.html.

PCO WORLD (Pennsylvania College of Optometry)

Dean Linda Casser and Dr. Anne-Marie Lahr welcomed Mr. Mike Elton, director of Professional Services for Hoya Free-Form, to campus in November. As a result of the collaborative efforts of Mr. Elton and Dr. Lahr, Hoya FreeForm provided an $80,000 grant to PCO for the renovation of one of the multi-use teaching laboratories. With additional funding from the University, the renovated laboratory was completed in time for the 2012 spring semester and now provides a more pleasant and usable teaching and learning environment.

Dr. Lahr, Mr. Elton and Dean Casser (l to r) are shown here after speaking to Optometry students during Mr. Elton’s visit.

The Feinbloom Center at The Eye Institute received a $20,000 grant for the Pediatric Low Vision program’s satellite clinics. The grant, applied for by associate professors Dr. Sarah Appel and Ms. Marcy Graboyes, was provided through the generosity of the Rae S. Uber Trust, a BNY Mellon Mid-Atlantic Charitable Trust. The funding will expand the satellite program to meet the needs of students with low vision throughout the greater Delaware Valley. It will also help to fund the cost of corrective eyewear and low vision devices.

Dr. Joel Silbert, PCO professor and director of the Cornea and Specialty Contact Lens Service at The Eye Institute, received the 2011 Scientific Achievement Award from the New Jersey Society of Optometric Physicians for his “contributions to the scientific advancement of the profession.”

PCO is the recipient of a $45,000 Alcon 2012 Partner in Education grant. This educational grant continues to make an immensely positive and important impact on PCO’s program, which benefits students, residents, faculty members, and alumni, as well as the patients they serve, according to Dean Casser.

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THE OSBORNE AURICLE (George S. Osborne College of Audiology)

Dean Victor Bray has announced a second Advanced Studies in Cochlear Implants certificate program will begin in midMay. The inaugural Advanced Studies program that began in May 2011 was successfully concluded in March. In a January interview with Audiology Online, Dean Bray and Dr. Girija Sundar, coordinator of distance education for OCA, announced that the College is offering two scholarships for this 40 week, wholly online session: one for a faculty member teaching in an audiology program at an institution without a cochlear implant center, and one scholarship for a fourth year audiology student who has an externship at a cochlear implant center.

Dr. Tricia Dabrowski, assistant professor, and Dr. Thomas Goyne, adjunct faculty member, presented a course in the Professional Education Track on "Know the Ropes of Being a Preceptor and Avoid Getting Lost in the Sea" at the annual Academy of Doctors of Audiology (ADA) meeting in November. Drs. Dabrowski and Goyne also served on the Academy’s 2011 Education Committee.

Several alumni continue to be involved with the ADA Board of Directors according to Dean Bray. Dr. Brian Urban ’06 continues on the Board of Directors and currently serves as treasurer. Adjunct faculty member Dr. Rita Chaiken ’03 continues as a director at large. Dr. Kim Cavitt ’05 will become a director at large, and Dr. Angela Morris ’03 has just retired from the Board.

Third year students Lisa Mariello-Baiada ’13 and Darius Zamani ’13, presented a course at the ADA in the Diagnostic Educational Track on “Symptomatic Vestibular and Auditory Dysfunction at 25: A Case Study Pertaining to Significance of Early Detection and Care.” This was an update and expansion of their award-winning Auditory Grand Rounds case from their second year curriculum.

Ms. Mariello-Baiada and Mr. Zamani were also two of the twenty Student Convention Scholarship Recipients for 2011.

INSIGHTS (College of Education and Rehabilitation)

Dean Audrey Smith has announced the appointment of Marian Gillard, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA, as associate professor and program director for the Occupational Therapy master of science and PhD degree programs, scheduled to launch this fall.

Dean Audrey Smith, PhD, Dr. Fabiana Perla, director of Orientation and Mobility programs, and assistant professors Dr. Duane Geruschat and Lynne Dellinger, MEd, presented at IMC14: International Mobility Conference 2012, held in New Zealand in March.

THE ALUMNI MAGAZINE OF SALUS UNIVERSITY

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SPRING 2012

UNIVERSITY NEWS

In the fall, Kerry Lueders, director of Low Vision Rehabilitation program attended Envision 2011, a multidisciplinary low vision rehabilitation and research conference.

Ms. Leuders presented, “Clinical Low Vision Examinations and the IEP Process: what do parents really think?”

Dr. Kathleen M. Huebner, professor and co-director of the National Leadership Consortium in Sensory Disabilities (NLCSD), has been named as one of two recipients of the American Federation of the Blind Migel Award for 2012.

The award – the highest honor in the blindness field according to the AFB – was created in 1937 to honor professionals and volunteers whose dedication and achievements improve the lives of people who are blind or visually impaired.

Jamie Maffitt, coordinator of the Orientation and Mobility program, attended the Honoring Abilities Conference in Mohave County, Arizona and presented at the Quarterly Tribal VR Administrators meeting. Ms. Maffitt’s presentation focused on Opportunities in Vision Rehabilitation and detailed the College’s four program options.

successful if they “focus on what is important and not get wrapped up in trivia.” He stressed the fact that PAs are part of the healthcare team and they must adopt a team mind set inorder to succeed in providing the best patient care. Mr. Wooten also discussed becoming a leader within the profession and becoming involved with the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) on an active basis.

PA student leaders shown with Mr. Wooten (l to r): Barbara Matos ’12, Geno Zini ’13, Emily Auger ’13, Emmylu O’Donnell ’13, Crystal Halloran ’13, Mr. Wooten, Courtney Harris ’13, Jessica Hesford ’13, Brittany McGinnis ’13.

THE PULSE (College of Health Sciences, Physician Assistant Program)

THE FRONTLINE (College of Health Sciences, Public Health Programs)

Program director Dr. Richard Vause announced that the Physician Assistant (PA) Class of 2011, which graduated in September, has taken the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination (PANCE). With 35 of the 37 graduates passing, the Salus PA program’s first attempt pass rate is 95%. The national first attempt pass rate for 2011 PA graduates is 91%.

William Monaco, OD, PhD, FAAO, special assistant for program development for the Office of Academic Affairs, attended the semi-annual Armed Forces Optometric Society (AFOS) conference in February. Held in Atlanta, the conference was attended by more than 100 military and federal government service employees of agencies such as the Veterans Administration and the US Public Health Service.

Dr. Monaco has been exploring collaborative possibilities with the specialty advisors, as the University’s Public Health programs could provide those in federal government service and the military with a breadth of knowledge that could prepare them for career options of increased responsibility.

The next phase of the 3+2 master’s degree Physician Assistant (PA) affiliated program between the University and Brigham Young University – Idaho (BYU-Idaho) is due to begin when Salus welcomes the first BYU-Idaho students in the fall.

According to Salus PA program director, Dr. Richard Vause, the new agreement qualifies BYU-Idaho students with 90 credits and all prerequisite courses completed by the end of their junior year as applicants to the 25-month Salus PA program. Once selected, the students who successfully complete their didactic (first) year in the Salus PA program will be awarded a Bachelor of Science degree from BYU-Idaho. In their second year at Salus, the students will complete their clinical rotations in the Idaho Falls area and receive a Master of Medical Science (MMS) degree from Salus University at the successful completion of their PA curriculum.

In February, the president of the American Academy of Physician Assistants, Robert Wooten, PA-C, visited the University and met with students and faculty. He spoke to the students about the difficult path of Physician Assistant (PA) studies and told them that they all have the potential to be

Adjunct faculty member Imran Khan, OD ’02, MPH, has been appointed international program director at the eyecare charity Vision Aid Overseas, where he will work with professional volunteers. Dr. Khan has worked with organizations such as Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity (VOSH), Unite for Sight, the Fred Hollows Foundation and the International Centre for Eyecare Education (ICEE).

Salus Public Health Advisory Board member, Rear Admiral Michael Mittelman, OD ’80, MPH, has been given a new command and is now Deputy Chief, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery and Deputy Surgeon General for the US Navy.

Admiral Mittelman is also the 2007 recipient of the Albert Fitch Memorial Alumnus of the Year award.

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Photo courtesy of the Boston Convention Marketing Center

Academy Meeting October 2011

The American Academy of Optometry (AAO) held its annual meeting in Boston in November. Many PCO alumni and faculty were on hand in Boston for the meeting and many also presented, either in the Academy of in one of the subspecialty sections. PCO was well-represented at the induction of new Fellows into the Academy.

Salus University president, Dr. Thomas L. Lewis, received several awards at the Academy meeting. A past president of the AAO, Dr. Lewis received the 2011 Eminent Service Award in recognition of his long-time service to the Academy.

The profession of Optometry also honored Dr. Lewis with the American Board of Optometry Appreciation Award for his service as a founding member of the ABO. Alumni and faculty presenters at the Academy this year included:

Congratulations to the Academy’s newest Fellows:

Robert Andersson, MSc ’10 Gregory Caldwell, OD ’95, FAAO Clark Y. Chang, OD ’07, FAAO Alissa Coyne, OD ’10 Michael Cymbor, OD ’96, FAAO David W. Friess, OD ’02, FAAO Lynn Greenspan, OD, FAAO Alison Hixenbaugh, OD ’10 Imran A. Khan, OD ’02, MPH, FAAO Kelly Malloy, OD ’96, FAAO Derek Mladenovich, OD ’02, MPH, FAAO Jean Marie Pagani, OD ’87, FAAO Caroline Pate, OD ’04, FAAO Carlo Pelino, OD ’94, FAAO Andrew Rixon, OD ’03, FAAO Jennifer Sanderson, OD ’05 Joseph P. Shovlin, OD ’80, FAAO Melissa A. Vitek, OD ’95 Charles M. Wormington, PhD, OD, FAAO Carolyn Majcher, OD ’11 Joan Wing, OD ’88, FAAO

George Banyas, OD ’06, FAAO Daniel Baruffi, OD ’10, FAAO Rachel Brackley, OD ’09, FAAO Kuno Cajacob, MSc ’11, FAAO Jennifer Cho, OD ’09, FAAO Katy Conway, OD ’10, FAAO Cesar Costales, OD ’10, FAAO Michael DelGiodice, OD ’08, FAAO Amanda Dori, OD ’09, FAAO Eugene Duvillard, BSc ’08, FAAO Tobias Ecke, MSc ’11, FAAO Rebecca Eiss, OD ’08, FAAO Helmut Fuchs, MSc ’08, FAAO Mary Good, OD ’07, FAAO Janina Hadeler, MSc ’11, FAAO Harry Halscheid, OD ’01, FAAO Andrew Ishak, OD ’87, FAAO Yen Le, OD ’10, FAAO Yao Lu, OD ’09, FAAO Michele McHale, OD ’10, FAAO Katerin Ortiz, OD, former TEI resident, FAAO Josephine Owoeye, OD ’03, FAAO Nirali Patel, OD ’09, FAAO Mahsa Salehi, OD ’09, FAAO Raheela Shah, OD ’07, FAAO Brooke A. Smith, OD ’07, FAAO Scott Soave, OD ’09, FAAO Richard Trevino, OD, former TEI resident, FAAO Iwan Zanchetta, BSc ’08, FAAO

Thank you to the alumni presenters now affiliated with other institutions, who notified us about their presentations.

The Academy’s registration system allows for only a single affiliation category and precludes mention of an alma mater.

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THE ALUMNI MAGAZINE OF SALUS UNIVERSITY

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SPRING 2012

Class Notes 1960s

1980s

After seventy years in the profession, Herbert Behrmann, OD ’42 retired from Omni-Vision in Philadelphia in mid-December at the age of 89.

“Dr. B,” as he is affectionately known to his longtime patients, was the subject of a December 18, 2011 Philadelphia Inquirer story by columnist Monica Yant-Kinney. Dr. Behrmann’s dedication, abilities and achievements were the subject of the column, which noted that he joined Omni-Vision at the age of 70 – when most people retire!

Errol Rummel, OD ’65, FAAO, FCOVD, FNORA, FIALVS, was accepted as a Fellow of the International Academy of Low Vision Specialists.

Rebecca E. Hutchins, OD ’84, has been practicing in Colorado since commencement.

Since her second office in Boulder was destroyed in a fire in December 1998, Dr. Hutchins has been in Niwot, CO. Dr. Hutchins writes that she gets referrals for binocular evaluations from the Gifted Development Center in Denver, where she sometimes sees children from as far away as Hong Kong, and works with special ed teachers, school psychologists, and many parents of current and former VT students. Her other specialty is traumatic brain injury, stroke, etc. and she sees two to three new TBI’s per week, many fairly complex. The diversity of her practice continues with developmentally delayed adults, and Dr. Hutchins is a provider for Boulder County Imagine Autism Spectrum Disorder. She and her husband have a son in his second year of college, and “too many animals to mention, four legged and two legged, furred and feathered, indoors and in the barn.”

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1940s

Eileen (Ciprano) Gould, OD ’43, Louis Rubin, OD ’43, Freda Sattel, OD ’43, and Donald J. Tasso, OD ’43 met at a Connecticut restaurant in December to reminisce 68 years after their graduation. Dr. Tasso writes that together each marveled at the progress their College has made, and the fact that in each PCO class today women represent a solid majority – compared to the five females in their class of ninety students!

Rudy Van Gelder, OD ’46, was honored by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences with a Trustees Award in February. The Grammy was given in recognition of his lifelong contribution to jazz recording. His early career in optometry financed Mr. Van Gelder’s first passion – music recording. When his reputation made him sought after by jazz greats such as Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins, Art Blakely and John Coltrane, he gave up optometry to concentrate on recording. Since 1952, the now 87year old engineer has recorded thousands of jazz albums and is credited with revolutionizing the sound of music in the LP era – capturing the distinct textures of each instrument and giving jazz albums a warm, natural tone.

1950s

Bernard “Pepper” Mallinger, OD ’52, writes, “It is hard to believe that I am entering my 60th year of practice. Still in Pittsburgh and continue to enjoy it.

I have had the honor to serve on the State Board of Optometry, the Governor’s Health Advisory Committee, the National Board of Examiners, and the Therapeutic Test Development Group. For the past forty three years I have been the team optometrist of the Pittsburgh Penguins. I would look forward to hearing from any of the members of the class of 1952.”

Edmund Burdick, OD ’69, mentioned his planned 2012 retirement when he sent his good wishes to Dr. Lewis. Congratulations, Dr. Burdick. Enjoy your well-earned time off!

Jerold S. Greenfield, OD ’69 has published a book, The Eye Doctor: Dark Angel.

1970s

Neil Draisin, OD ’71, was honored with the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the College of Charleston Alumni Association at their Annual Awards Gala in November. The award, established in 1983, recognizes an alumni member who has made significant contributions to his or her profession or community. Dr. Draisin is the current president of SECO. Monroe “Puggy” Farmer, OD ’75, was the subject of a recent posting by fellow alumnus Leonard Press, OD ’77 on The Vision Help Blog.

A SUNY applicant Dr. Press was interviewing told him that her family optometrist had gotten her interested in optometry. He had helped her when he empowered the six-year old with mild amblyopia to make a choice: wear glasses or wear an eye patch.

The applicant had chosen the glasses and wore them religiously, according to Dr. Press, who asked her who her optometrist was. It turned out to be Puggy Farmer, who served on the PCO Student Council with Dr. Press in the seventies, when Dr. Press was president of the fourth year class and Dr. Farmer was president of the first year class!

Leonard J. Press, OD ’77, received the 2011 G.N. Getman Award in recognition of his clinical expertise in developmental optometry and his dedication to patient care. A past president of the COVD, past member of the COVD International Examination and Certification Board, and a preceptor for PCO students, Dr. Press has a private practice in Fair Lawn NJ, where he currently practices with his son, Daniel Press, OD ’07.

Steven Warstadt, OD ’87, recently returned from India where he participated in his eighth One Sight global clinic. He was once again the lead doctor in January 2012 for his third One Sight Atlanta clinic.

Douglas Franz, OD ’89, has opened his own practice, Adirondack Vision Care, in Plattsburgh NY. Retired from the US Air Force in 2009, Dr. Franz actually began his military career in the US Army.

He served in Germany for three years before enlisting in the Air Force, where he served in Oklahoma, Japan, South Carolina and Missouri.

Andrew Gurwood, OD ’89, PCO professor, has been appointed to the editorial board for the Journal of Optometry: Peer-reviewed Journal of the Spanish General Council of Optometry.

1990s

Anthony Clark, OD ’90, has been practicing with Triangle Visions in Durham/Triangle Park and Cary, NC since 1994. His specialties include laser vision correction, contact lenses, ocular injuries and diseases, and pediatric eye care. Married to Demetrice (Trevathan) Clark, OD ’90 since 1987, the Clarks live in Cary, NC with their six children: Caleb, Samara, Gabe, Anna Grace, Micah, and Josiah.

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CLASS NOTES Richard Stegen, OD ’90, has received a grant from Optometry’s Fund for Disaster Relief, administered by Optometry Cares, after his New Hampshire practice sustained damage during Hurricane Irene in August.

Richard C. Malara, OD ’92 writes that he has cause for celebration: the engagement of his oldest daughter and the three year anniversary of his new office in Baldwinsville, New York.

Kelly (Fulgham) de Simone, OD ’93, was awarded the Ahwatukee (AZ) Foothills Chamber of Commerce’s Palo Verde Award, given to a local businesswoman who impacts the community.

Dr. de Simone and her husband, Christopher, have three children: John, 17, Devon, 14, and Sammy, 11.

Kathryn Dingley Gurney, OD ’98, is the new president of the Maine Optometric Association.

Dr. Gurney owns Family Optometry in Farmington ME, which she purchased in 2007. She and her husband, Kevin, have two sons.

2000s

Lorissa Hemmer, OD ’01, has joined the Bend (OR) Memorial Clinic ophthalmology department after working several years as an optometrist in Bend. Currently serving as a captain in the U.S. Army Reserves Medical Corps, Dr. Hemmer is a member of the American Optometric Association, Oregon Optometric Physicians Association and Central Oregon Optometric Physician Association. She also volunteers with Volunteers in Medicine.

William Marcolini, OD ’01, FAAO, is presidentelect of the New Jersey Society of Optometric Physicians and co-chair of the Industry Relations Committee. He is in practice at Omni Eye Services in New Jersey, where he has served as clinical externship director.

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Robert M. DiSogra, AuD ’03, presented "Analyses of internet websites for accurate drug information" at the annual Academy of Doctors of Audiology meeting in November.

Shana Farber Korman, OD ’03, writes that she and her husband, Alex, welcomed son, Silas, in June.

Jennifer Sanderson, OD ’05 is currently an assistant professor at the Southern College of Optometry, where she supervises the primary care examinations of patients in the affiliated Eye Center. She also works as the Director of Preventive Health regarding all EPA and OSHA concerns, is the assistant to the Director of Residencies and is a member of several college committees.

Dr. Sanderson was recently appointed to the position of the Environmental Management Representative, and is chair of the Environmental Committee at SCO. Laura M. Tallant, AuD ’05, CCC-A, has joined Cornerstone Audiology, a practice affiliated with High Point Ear, Nose and Throat Associates, in High Point, NC. Shannon Denyse Huntzberry, OD ’06, is engaged to Michael Wayne Henderson, OD. Dr. Huntzberry is in practice at Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston.

Carole E. Johnson, AuD ’06, PhD, was interviewed by Douglas L. Beck, AuD, web editor for the American Academy of Audiology, who spoke with Dr. Johnson about auditory rehabilitation (AR), psychosocial aspects of hearing loss, micro-BTEs, stigma, AR programs, and more. A professor at Auburn University Department of Communication Disorders, Dr. Johnson is the author of Introduction to Auditory Rehabilitation – A Contemporary Issues Approach.

Robert Lloyd, OD ’06 joined Eye Care Specialists of Scranton PA in November.

Sarah A. Hickey, AuD ’07 has joined Audiology Associates Balance and Hearing Center, a practice with offices in Cape Girardeau and Poplar Bluff, MO.

Kathryn Elizabeth Manton, OD ’08 was married to Mark Andrew Minter of Cary, NC, on September 10 in the garden of the Salt Aire House in Duck, NC. Dr. Manton is in practice at the Eye Care Center in Raleigh and her husband is an engineer with Caterpillar. They live in Holly Springs, NC. John Krempecki, OD ’08 and Amy Trosino, OD ’11, were married on September 3, 2011.

(Please see Dr. Trosino ’11 for details and photo).

Megan (Wesnak) Walsh, OD ’08, married Richard Walsh on September 18, 2011 in Dunmore PA. Dr. Walsh is in practice at O’Hora Eye Care Center. She and her husband reside in Dunmore.

Markus Hilbert, AuD ’09, has started an online hearing care advocacy site (www.hearingpages.com), for manufacturers, consumers, audiologists and non-profits including universities. Dr. Hilbert is also practicing in a hospital setting in Canada and running his practice management firm, Ear Works, on the side (www.earworksinc.com).

Ryan Horan, AuD ’09 is engaged to Zoe Jenkins, AuD of Lancaster, PA. Dr. Horan is employed

by Widex USA and the couple plan to marry on May 19.

Mary Blair Long, OD ’09 is engaged to Michael Anthony Krauson. Dr. Long, who was commissioned at the Kimmel Center just after her PCO commencement ceremony, is with the US Navy Medical Service Corps, Beaufort, SC. Her fiancé is a compliance specialist with Cigna Health Care. A wedding is planned for April 28 at the Chapel of Christ the King, King’s College, Scranton PA, where Dr. Long completed her undergraduate degree.

2010s

Matthew Robert Bittel, OD ’10 is engaged to Cynthia Kristen Omstead. Dr. Bittel is in practice with his father, Robert P. Bittel, OD ’83 at Bittel Vision Care and Laser Consultants in South Hills, PA, outside of Pittsburgh. His fiancée, who holds an MBA from the University of Miami, is employed by RCx Building Diagnostics in Charleroi as a business development manager. A September 8, 2012 wedding is planned. ▼ ▼ Erik Ness, PA-C, MMS ’09 married Jennifer (Benfield) Ness, PA-C, MMS ’09 on the beach in Avalon, NJ on September 24th, 2011. Salus alumni in attendance were fellow classmates Katie Bacik, PA-C, MMS ’09; Jesse McAllister, PAC, MMS ’09; Emily (Weber) Parker, PA-C, MMS ’09; Julie Psota, PA-C, MMS ’09, and Virel Prajapati, PA-C, MMS ’09. The couple has recently relocated to New Jersey.

Amy Bartal Desmond, OD ’10 is celebrating with her husband, Daniel T. Desmond, who passed the bar exam in October. A May 2011 graduate of Temple University School of Law, Daniel is employed at Barley Snyder LLP in Lancaster.

Amy Trosino, OD ’11 and John Krempecki, OD ’08 were married on September 3, 2011, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Jeannette, PA. Dr. Trosino is completing a one-year residency in pediatric optometry and vision therapy in Wichita, Kan. Dr. Krempecki completed a residency in pediatric optometry and vision therapy before joining Cape Fear Eye Associates in Fayetteville NC. ▼

Missing Alumni Clair J. Knerr, OD W. David Michael, Jr., OD Fred Halperin, OD Herbert M. Blank, OD Alfred Keglovitz, OD Paul E. Semmel, OD Robert G. Nupuf, OD John A. Dudash, OD Jeffrey Bronner, OD John R. Latch, OD

1942 1942 1952 1957 1957 1957 1967 1972 1977 1977

Leslie R. MacLaren, OD Patricia A. Nepps, OD Richard L. Raucci, OD Allan L. Wilkofsky, OD Baruch M. M. Levavi, OD Gerald L. Ross, OD Mark A. Hartzell, OD John J. Sheehan, OD Sandy Yee, OD Anita Narang, OD

1977 1982 1982 1982 1987 1987 1992 1997 1997 2007

The alumni listed here cannot be invited to their reunion because we have no contact information for them.

If you can provide information about a classmate, please contact Jamie Lemisch at 215.780.1391 or jlemisch@salus.edu to ensure that no one misses the celebration!

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In Memoriam With sorrow, the University notes the passing of: Alton G. Billmeier, OD ’38, FAAO, of Denton MD, on January 9, 2011 at the age of 97. Dr. Billmeier was the husband of the late C. Elsie (Wright) Billmeier, OD ’38, who died in 1994. The Doctors Billmeier had practiced optometry in Denton MD since 1939, when they joined the practice of Dr. Elsie Billmeier’s father, who started the practice in 1905. His daughter and son-in-law, Drs. Dorothy and Lester Branson, continue the practice today. Dr. Billmeier is survived by his two daughters, their husbands, six grandchildren, five greatgrandchildren and a sister.

David Ginsberg, OD ’41, of Mystic CT, on July 6, 2011 at the age of 93. After serving as a captain in the US Army, he practiced optometry in New London CT from 1946 to 1981 and was involved in many civic organizations. Dr. Ginsberg is survived by his son, two daughters and their spouses, five grandchildren and three great-granddaughters.

Frederick Saxon Bell, OD ’42, FAAO, of New Brunswick NJ, on November 23, 2011, at the age of 93. After serving in World War II, Dr. Bell entered private practice in 1946, closing his office only a short while before his death. He was a consultant for many New Jersey state and county organizations. Dr. Bell was a colonel and wing commander of the Civil Air Patrol of the US Air Force Auxiliary.

He is survived by his wife, Dorothy, two sons and two daughters, their spouses and nine grandchildren.

Walter J. Kaplan, OD ’44, of Rockville MD, on September 6, 2011. Dr. Kaplan had a long career in private practice and with an HMO. He is survived by Benita, his wife of 41 years, a nephew and a great-nephew.

Lester B. Kahn, OD ’46, of Chandler AZ, on September 22, 2011. A veteran of World War II, Dr. Kahn was discharged in 1944, graduated from PCO in November 1946. He practiced in Newburgh, NY and was a life member of the American Optometric Association. Dr. Kahn is survived by a daughter, two sons and six grandchildren.

Adolph Lombart, OD ’46, of Norfolk VA, on December 28, 2011. After graduation, Dr. Lombart opened a practice in his hometown of Norfolk VA, eventually building one of the largest private practices in the state. Dr. Lombart was known for his love for his family, his generosity and his love of life. He is survived by Bette, his wife of 67 years, their son and two daughters, their spouses, five grandchildren and three great-granddaughters.

Phyllis (Eichler) Berger, OD ’48, of Wilkes Barre PA, on September 10, 2011. Phyllis met Irving (Isadore) Berger ’48 in 1945 at PCO and the two married after graduation. They opened a joint optometric practice with offices in Hazleton, Shickshinny, and Dallas PA. According to her family, Dr. Phyllis Berger was the first female optometrist in the area. She is survived by her husband, Dr. Irving (Isadore) Berger, their son and two daughters and three grandchildren.

Milton W. Young Jr., OD ’49, of Slatington PA, on January 14, 2012 at the age of 87. During World War II, he served in the US Navy for three years in the South Pacific and was a member of American Legion Post 16 and several community volunteer organizations, including the Vigilant Fire Company. Dr. Young is survived by his wife of 62 years, Pauline I. (Pugh) Young, a son and a daughter.

Aloysius L. Mittereder, OD ’51, of Punxsutawney PA, on September 20, 2010.

A US Army World War II veteran, Dr. Mittereder had a successful optometric practice for 52 years before his retirement in 2002. Beloved by all of his patients, his daughter, Diane Mittereder Sholder, noted that he was “very proud of the Pennsylvania College of Optometry and always spoke highly of his training.”

Dr. Mittereder is survived by three sons, two daughters and 18 grandchildren.

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Leo J. Levin, OD ’52, of Northfield OH, on March 25, 2010. Dr. Levin was a proud veteran of World War II, having been a combat medic in the 8th Armored Division of the US Army. Dr. Levin is survived by his two sons, a daughter and a grandson.

Captain Harry W. Boggs, OD ’53, USN (retired), of Keyser WV, on December 21, 2011. Known for his extensive volunteer work and dedication to the community of Keyser and to Mineral County, Dr. Boggs was a member of many charitable organizations and served on the boards and as past president of many of them. Dr. Boggs is survived by his wife, Flora, their three sons and their spouses and six grandchildren.

William H. Bissell, Jr. OD ’55, of Beaver Falls PA, on April 3, 2009. Dr. Bissell retired after nearly 50 years as an optometrist in Beaver, PA. A US Army veteran, he is survived by his wife, Sara Wess Bissell, two sons, a daughter and a grandson.

Miles I. Klein, OD, FAAO ’56, of Plano TX, on October 15, 2011, after a brief illness, two months shy of his 80th birthday and his 54th wedding anniversary.

Dr. Klein practiced in New York City and Staten Island for more than 40 years.

Dr. Klein was also a writer. When asked to describe himself in a few sentences to accompany his audio book reviews, he wrote “Miles Klein practiced optometry in New York for 41 years (until he got it right).” Dr. Klein is survived by his wife, Judith, two daughters, a son and their spouses.

Marvin Budgar, OD ’62, of Pittsford NY, on June 21, 2009. He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Barbara, and their three children.

Robert F. Krall, OD ’65 of Verbank NY, on April 4, 2011. In practice for 42 years, Dr. Krall continued to see patients until mid-March, losing his battle with pancreatic cancer nearly three weeks later. Dr. Krall’s public service included 35 years as a member of the Lions Club. He was a past president of the Hudson Valley Optometric Society and, after his appointment in 1998 by Governor Pataki, proudly served 10 years on the College Council of the State University of New York (SUNY) College of Optometry. He is survived by his wife, Linda, a son and two grandchildren.

Allyn Zucker, OD ’68, of Coral Springs FL, on November 26, 2010 at the age of 90.

Martha D. (Kuzmowych) Cenko, OD ’74, of Dunkirk MD, on December 12, 2011. Dr. Cenko is survived by her husband, Alexis.

Dr. Cecil Furer, OD ’74, of Buffalo Township PA, on November 24, 2011.

Dr. Furer owned and operated the Eye Care Center in Freeport for 34 years, and had locations in Kiski, Kittanning and New Kensington. He was a past president of the Pennsylvania Optometric Association and served as president for many civic and volunteer organizations in his community. He also made countless mission trips to deliver vision care and glasses to people in places such as Haiti, Mexico and Guatemala. Dr. Furer is survived by his wife, Janet, three sons and a daughter.

Jerry Davidoff, OD ’81 of West Chester PA, on November 30, 2011. Jerry fought valiantly against lung cancer and did so with his trademark humor, patience and optimism. In a message to PCO faculty, Dean Linda Casser noted that Dr. Davidoff demonstrated a career-long commitment to the profession of optometry, and mentioned his many years of dedicated volunteer service at the state and national levels. Jerry Davidoff was a fellow of the American Academy of Optometry, a nationally recognized lecturer on vision problems, a former chairman of the Chester and Delaware County Optometric Association, the Pennsylvania Optometric Committee, and the American Optometric Association’s Vision Rehabilitation Section. He is survived by his wife, Teresa, their two daughters, his parents and a sister.

What’s New?

Have you: Recently moved?

Opened a practice?

Changed your place of employment?

Gotten engaged or married?

Added to your family?

Been elected to office or received an award?

Please send us your change of address and updated contact information so your name does not appear on the list of Missing Alumni for your reunion!

Please send any personal and/or professional news you would like to share with your classmates, colleagues, the faculty and staff – who are interested in what you have been doing lately. It’s not bragging; if we didn’t want to know, we wouldn’t ask!

Due to production schedules, your news might not be published in the alumni magazine you receive after you submit it.

Send your information to alumni@salus.edu or enter your information online at www.salus.edu/alumni/keepInTouch.html.

The information you provide might also appear on the website under “Alumni News.”

Mail submissions are fine as well: Ms. Jamie Lemisch, Alumni Relations, 8360 Old York Road, Elkins Park, PA 19027.

If you have any questions, please contact Jamie Lemisch, Alumni Relations director, at jlemisch@salus.edu or 215.780.1391.

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Calendar

OF COMING EVENTS

APRIL 18-20, 2012

SEPTEMBER 14, 2012

Penn-Del Association for the Education & Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AERBVI) Spring Vision Conference Grantville, PA

Commencement

M AY 5 - 6 , 2 0 1 2

Pennsylvania Academy of Audiology Annual Conference Lancaster, PA

PCO and OCA Alumni Reunion Welcoming all classes to join us in celebrating!

Elkins Park Campus

College of Health and Sciences, Physician Assistant Studies Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel, Elkins Park PA SEPTEMBER 20-21, 2012

OCTOBER 16, 2012

M AY 2 0 , 2 0 1 2

Pennsylvania Society of Physician Assistants Annual CME Conference Valley Forge Convention Center, King of Prussia, PA

Commencement

OCTOBER 22-26, 2012

Pennsylvania College of Optometry; Osborne College of Audiology; College of Education and Rehabilitation; PCO Residents Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Philadelphia PA

Acoustical Society of America 164th Meeting Kansas City, MO OCTOBER 24-27, 2012

M AY 2 6 - 3 1 , 2 0 1 2

American Academy of Physician Assistants Annual Conference Toronto, Ontario, Canada

American Academy of Optometry Phoenix, AZ NOVEMBER 8-10, 2012

J U N E 2 7 - J U LY 1 , 2 0 1 2

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American Optometric Association: Optometry’s Meeting

PCO Alumni Reception: Friday, June 29

Academy of Doctors of Audiology Annual Conference Phoenix, AZ

Chicago, IL

NOVEMBER 15-17, 2012

J U LY 1 8 - 2 2 , 2 0 1 2

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Conference Atlanta, GA

AER International Conference Bellevue, Washington