Visions_09Spring

F o s t e ring a p e rs o n a l c o m m i t m e n t t o s e r v i c e

ALUMNI MAGAZINE

SPRING 2009

content 1 President’s Corner

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Alumni Focus

RICHARD W. PHILLIPS, OD ’78, FAAO President

KRISTIN K. ANDERSON, OD Vice President for Institutional Advancement

JIM HOLLIFIELD Editor Director of Communications

SUSAN M. DOYLE Designer

ERIN JAFFE Photographer

EUNICE J. HART

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SECO 2009

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State Day

Writer

trustees Donna Abney, MBA – Chair Germantown, Tennessee

Eugene M. Bane, Jr., OD ’65 Salem, Virginia

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Philanthropy Matters

Larry H. Bryan

Memphis, Tennessee

Howard F. Flippin, OD ’59 Searcy, Arkansas

John A. Gazaway, OD ’67

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Class Notes

Eagle Grove, Iowa

A. Thomas Hyde, OD ’76 Morristown, Tennessee

James B. Jalenak, Esq. Memphis, Tennessee

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News Briefs

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Out and About

Jarrett Johnson, OD ’90

New Orleans, Louisiana

Christopher B. King, OD ’83 Englewood, Florida

Sharon Berger Moscow, OD ’80 Roswell, Georgia

Kenneth L. Mulholland, Jr. Germantown, Tennessee

Richard L. Powell, OD ’68 Lincoln, Nebraska

Steven Reed, OD ’95 Magee, Mississippi

Robert W. Smalling, OD ’74 Warren, Arkansas

Visions Alumni Magazine is published four times yearly through the Office of Institutional Advancement. Copies are available without charge to alumni, faculty, staff, students and friends of the college. A digital version is available online at www.sco.edu/visions.

Please send comments, contributions and address changes to: Office of Institutional Advancement 1245 Madison Avenue Memphis, TN 38104-2222 800-238-0180, ext. 4 901-722-3379 FAX

Mary Thornley, EdD

Charleston, South Carolina

J. Bart Campbell, OD ’87 Faculty Representative Memphis, Tennessee

Amanda Nadolski, ’10 Student Representative The Woodlands, TX

pr e sid en t ’ s co rn er Richard W. Phillips, OD ’78, FAAO

»

Just about everyone in America has been affected or touched by the economy. SCO is no exception. Like you, we’ve seen the value of our investments take a hit from the recession. And like you, we’ve taken a number of proactive, sensible steps to make sure that SCO weathers this storm. I recently addressed a campus-wide meeting of our faculty and staff and outlined the steps we are taking to underscore SCO’s commitment to fiscal responsibility.

During these tough times, we are especially aware of what the support of our alumni and friends has meant to us. Your support prepared us for this day. Because of you, more students than ever before are receiving endowed scholarships, and these scholarships help keep student debt as low as possible. Many of our state-dependent schools are seeing significant reductions in funding.

At SCO, our quality of education is secure, our tuition remains among the lowest in the country, and we are striving to provide the best education, using the best technology, because it is absolutely that important for the future of our profession.

Yet in the midst of this economic crisis, the faculty and staff have been looking to the future, hard at work on our strategic plan. I am exceptionally pleased with the process. We’ve had a great deal of positive input from our Board and from throughout the college. You’ll be hearing more about our new strategic plan initiatives after final approval from the Board in May. Our strategic plan emphasizes that our students are the primary stakeholder in our mission. We will focus on the quality of the students we recruit and the quality and forward-thinking nature of the education they receive.

They will view learning as a life-long process. We want to instill in our students the sense of responsibility to be a participating, giving member of the communities in which they will serve. Service to our profession, to our communities, and to our fellow man is stressed in this plan. As you will read in this issue, SCO’s alumni already are setting a good example for our students as they demonstrate service in a number of capacities.

As alumni, you must have the confidence that tomorrow’s student will be prepared to see optometry escalate as a profession into the changing face of 21st century healthcare.

To fulfill our strategic vision, SCO has outstanding faculty, greater in number and more diverse than ever before. Staff members understand that SCO’s mission is shared with the faculty, and that the students are the primary stakeholder in everything we do. We have a strategic plan that is lofty and comprehensive enough to

ensure that we become the best college of optometry in the United States.

When challenged to make SCO the best, 86% of faculty and staff gave to the college last year, and they have requested a goal of 100% participation this year. Our faculty and staff have funded scholarships that awarded $12,000 to students this past year. We have received three scholarship pledges from individual faculty members.

Faculty and staff have named nine rooms in The Eye Center and established three awards.

Moreover, our new Alumni Council individually represents six scholarships, nine rooms, and two awards.

In their first year, they collectively created the first Alumni Council Scholarship, and it will be fully funded within this year.

Everything we do is focused on the future to be ready to meet any challenge that lies ahead of us. Your financial support is more important than ever. There is no bailout for optometric education; there is no stimulus package for SCO. Through the generosity of our alumni and industry, we can be empowered to fund our strategic plan’s vision for the future.

If SCO is to reach its potential – and the evidence shows that the faculty and staff believe it is possible – then it is critical for our alumni to join us in this vision with a financial commitment to naming a scholarship, room or award and providing for SCO’s future through planned giving and estate planning.

We are determined to educate the best possible healthcare providers who are committed to lifelong learning. They will be committed to having the highest professional level of practice. And they will be committed to service to that community in which they practice.

From one SCO graduate to another, I would like to encourage you to consider what you can do for the future of optometric education. Together, we can aim for SCO having the highest percentage of alumni participating in giving back to their alma mater. When we do, SCO can, indeed, become the best that there is.

Thank you for what you have done for SCO, and for what you will do for SCO.

Everything we do is focused on the future to be ready to meet any challenge that lies ahead of us.

Spring 2009

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ALUMNI FOCUS

Joe Ellis, OD ’86

Service Through National Leadership As an SCO student, Joe Ellis, OD ’86, could not have predicted that one day he would be vice president of the American Optometric Association, let alone preparing for a run at the presidency at the AOA Congress this summer.

“I was a married student who played a lot of intramural sports,” he says, “(But) I made friends that I still talk to and see now.”

Ellis had played college football at Murray State University.

He knew he wanted to go into the healthcare industry and optometry was on the list. He found out about SCO through friends who were attending. That’s when he looked more into optometry and became interested.

He counts Jim Newman, OD ’73, Glen Steele, OD ’69, and Bud Mormon, OD, among his favorite professors, role models who inspired him to become involved in leadership roles within the profession.

Dr. Ellis, who is in private practice in Benton, Kentucky with Laurel Van Horn, OD ’99, began his service at the state level. An active member of the Kentucky Optometric Association (KOA), he served on the KOA board from 1990 to 1996 and as president in the 1994-1995 program year.

At the national AOA level, he has served as a member of the Constitution and Bylaws, Finance, Personnel, and Building Committees and as a board liaison to the Communications Group Advisory Committee, the Contact Lens and Cornea Section, the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education, the Advocacy Group, Commission on Paraoptometric Certification, and the AOA Sports Vision Section.

A big motivation for his service was the recognition that organized optometry could increase patients’ access to optometric healthcare. Dr. Ellis graduated from SCO during the time optometry was just being added to Medicare, after 20 years of existence. He realizes the ground work for that progress came from opto­ metrists working with legis­lators to change the language of Medicare laws to include optometry.

“People before me had done things so that I could enjoy the benefits of practice,” he

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says. “If you don’t have access to patients, all the training isn’t worth anything.”

Although he and other members of the KOA worked hard to put legislation together that gave patients greater access to optometric services, they found that national legislation could make their state legislation moot.

Even now there are still access issues such as optometry not being included on certain health insurance plans. Even though some states have corrected the language, it’s not there on a national level. Dr. Ellis feels this demonstrates the need to strengthen pro-optometry legislation.

“Optometrists need to be more involved in the state and national political scene,” he says.

Because optometry privileges are legislated, even for the use of new technology, Dr. Ellis advocates the need for ODs to play an active role by becoming involved and serving the profession to strengthen the profession.

“We need to be there to ensure we pass the language and legislation to make sure we can use new technology,” he says.

As an AOA leader, he also wants to make sure the AOA is involved on the ground floor of national healthcare reform being proposed by President Barack Obama. He wants to guarantee that pro-optometry language is included from the beginning so it won’t have to be corrected 20 years down the road, like Medicare.

In addition to his service to the profession at the national level, he also has found time to remain involved in preparing the next generation of optometrists as an SCO preceptor for student externships. As a preceptor, he has seen many changes in optometric education since he graduated.

“I have seen over the years in my dealings with externs where students are a lot more proficient with technology – more technology savvy,” Ellis says.

He advises students to get out and make a bigger connection between their education and the profession outside school.

“In my last couple of years, I wished I would have visited more optometry practices,” he says.

As he eyes the AOA presidency, he remembers where it all started as an optometry student in Memphis and still professes pride in receiving an SCO education.

“I’m proud to have gone to SCO, proud to see how SCO has grown and gained stature among the colleges of optometry across the country.”

It is a pride he shares with other alumni he frequently meets across the country as he attends state board meetings and serves the profession at one of the highest leadership levels at the AOA.

Randy Goodman, OD ’79

Ministering to Body and Spirit: SVOSH Taught the Importance of Serving Others For Randy Goodman, OD ’79, optometry

patients’ physical and then spiritual needs.

proved to be more than just a healthcare

The same could be said about his

career. Even though he never thought of

years practicing optometry, where taking

the profession as just a career, he never

an interest in his patients led to a greater

dreamed optometry would take him where

interest in how he could serve them in

he is today.

other ways.

“I thought I would practice until they had to carry me out,” he says.

At age 56, Dr. Goodman is far from having to be carried from his practice. However,

“I spent a lot of time with patients, talking to them about things that were not optometry related,” he recalls. “We would sometimes stop and talk things through.”

in May 2008, he received his Masters of

With his church playing an important

Divinity degree from Asbury Theological

part in his life outside optometry, Dr.

Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. He is now a

Goodman organized retreats, men’s trips

minister at First United Methodist Church in

and even filled in for preachers in their

Tullahoma, Tennessee.

absence.

“As optometrists, we don’t just care for people’s eyes; we care for their lives.”

So how did a successful optometrist

He first felt a calling to ministry in 1992

retire from the profession, only to start a new

and by a decade later, he knew the ministry

Dr. Goodman still enjoys hospital

career as a minister? Dr. Goodman’s journey

awaited him as the next step in his journey

privileges at two area hospitals but he can

began at SCO but continued to progress

to serve others.

now go there as a minister. He finds his

into something that he believes was meant to be from the start.

seeing when they were just babies.”

After receiving an unsolicited letter from

background in optometry helps answer

Asbury Theological Seminary, he enrolled

questions for some patients, like a stroke

He counts his membership in SVOSH as

in a new program that allowed him to

patient he ministered to during one visit.

the first step of his interest in serving others.

continue practicing optometry and attend

“His doctor came and said the stroke

As an SCO student, he went on a mission to

seminary school full-time. He also served as

had affected his vision and left the room,”

Costa Rica with a group of SVOSH members

pastor of a small country church. He says his

he says. “Of course the patient had a lot of

and 27,000 pairs of glasses. He says the

family has been fully supportive of him.

questions.”

mission opened him up to service. His

“It’s been a challenge, and sacrifice has

The mission he set out on 30 years ago

education and training at SCO steered him

been made by me and my family, but the

may have evolved in an unexpected way

more towards a life of mission and service.

sacrifice has been well worth it,” he says.

but in Dr. Goodman’s opinion, it represents a

After graduation, Dr. Goodman and

After graduating from seminary school,

his wife, Betsy Goodman, OD ’79, settled in

Dr. Goodman officially retired from op-

middle Tennessee and became involved

tometry in June 2008; his wife continues to

in their church. Over the years, his church

practice in the community.

conducted a number of medical mission

“It’s hard to adjust when you’re in your

trips to Mexico where they tended to their

50s,” he says. “I’ve got patients I started

continuation on a higher level.

“As optometrists, we don’t just care for people’s eyes; we care for their lives.”

Spring 2009

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ALUMNI FOCUS

Jim Newman, OD ’73

Mentor, Professor, Friend: Helping Students Succeed in More Ways Than One Paying it forward is not a foreign concept to Jim Newman, OD ’73, Professor.

In a way, he’s repaying a debt and paying it forward at the same time. It all began with his first pair of glasses.

“In the ninth grade, I was always complaining to my parents about my vision,” Dr. Newman said. “I got my first pair of glasses and I remember being able to see each individual snow flake.”

At that point in his young life, Dr. Newman became more interested in optometry. It wasn’t until he was an undergraduate student that he made that final leap and decided to attend SCO. After his graduation in 1973, he and his wife, Carol, planned to open a practice in Greenwood, Mississippi, but, at the time, the economy was bad. They decided to stay in Memphis, where Dr. Newman joined a practice and began teaching at SCO. After four years of practicing and teaching, the practice was sold and Dr. Newman decided to keep teaching at SCO. While it wasn’t part of his original plan, things fell into place for him, especially his current position as SCO’s Director of Academic Support Services. After over 20 years of unofficially helping students overcome academic and personal obstacles to success, SCO made the position official six years ago.

Dr. Newman said his role of tutoring and counseling SCO students began after observing students floundering, not doing well and just not living up to their full potential.

“If your mother’s in intensive care at home, that’s going to have an effect,” Newman said. “People come here with all kinds of trauma in their life; you don’t go to school in a bubble.”

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In the beginning, it was just a matter of stepping up to serve the students’ needs. Newman said when he attended SCO, there was no one who did what he does.

“You just had to deal with it,” Newman said of his time as a student. “The school wasn’t student friendly.”

Dr. Newman says the atmosphere has improved and today there is a good rapport between students and faculty.

When he first saw students having problems, he began quietly pulling them aside to get at the root of the issue.

Now, monitoring students is a daily task that comes more from care and empathy rather than a sense of duty.

“I’m constantly looking at students’ performances,” he said. “If I see it slipping, I call them in.”

Over the 36 years Dr. Newman has spent at SCO, the students don’t seem to change. They still experience the same problems and issues. The one constant is Dr. Newman himself.

“I keep getting old and they keep staying the same age,” he said. “They used to call me ‘Uncle Jimmy’ and now they call me ‘Dad’.”

The students’ terms of endearment come from how seriously Dr. Newman takes them and their issues. He makes sure all students know they aren’t at SCO alone, starting at orientation. He uses a couch that belonged to President Emeritus William Cochran, OD ’68, and a chair in his outer office to make it more comfortable. Students frequently come there to take quick naps or just sit and talk. Confidentiality is important to Dr. Newman and, much like a priest or counselor, he divulges no details about their private lives.

Although SCO also provides access to counseling services off-campus, Dr. Newman is often a first responder of sorts. As such, he makes sure the pressure doesn’t wear him down. As a general rule, he doesn’t take his job home with him. He has also taken the occasional student’s phone

FCO Students Spend Spring Break Serving Others on Mission Trip to Nicaragua

call on a Saturday night but has learned to discern between a real crisis and an overly dramatic student.

He has also learned to take care of himself. Dr. Newman realizes taking on the stress of others can have an adverse affect on his own health. “I exercise and I watch what I eat,” Dr. Newman said. “I’ve learned how to balance it.”

His concern lies in the students’ academic progress as well. While personal issues can affect academic performance, so can the lack of necessary study skills. Now, as opposed to 10 or 20 years ago, he spends most of his time helping firstyears. Although the application and interview process does a good job of attracting top students, he still works with a few “diamonds in the rough” to help them transition to the rigorous demands of the optometry program.

Dr. Newman says many of today’s students learned in undergraduate school how to memorize material and repeat it. He knows from experience that diagnosing a condition cannot be done by simply memorizing material. He teaches students how to think and process the information in order to succeed in their careers. In turn, SCO produces top notch optometrists.

“I know what they’ve got to know when they get to clinic; they don’t,” Dr. Newman said. “I have to teach students how to think and process.”

Making sure the students are succeeding academically involves Dr. Newman’s constant attention and staying attuned to what’s going on in their lives. Serving the students is what makes Dr. Newman thrive. He further serves the public’s needs by helping educate optometrists of the best quality. By his own admission, he wouldn’t be in his position today if he didn’t enjoy it.

“If I’m going to stay here teaching, I have to enjoy working with the students,” Dr. Newman added. “If you don’t enjoy working with students, why are you here?”

Accompanied by Jim Newman, OD ’73, Professor, SCO’s Fellowship of Christian Optometrists (FCO) chapter spent Spring Break 2009 by travelling on a mission trip to help children living in Jinotega, Nicaragua. The group partnered with an established mission to provide optometric services to school children between the ages of 5 and 18 in the mountainous city.

During her undergraduate studies, FCO member Dee Horn, ’10, had worked with the mission on spring break missions to Central America. The organization has built many one-room school houses in the mountains of Nicaragua. After contacting the organization to see if a need still existed in the area, Horn worked with FCO to organize the trip around their class and clinic schedules, and spring break.

Katy Falk, ’10, FCO trip leader, reported that 22 SCO students volunteered their time during spring break to provide eye care for the children in Nicaragua. FCO is an international organization that frequently conducts these types of mission trips all over the world. The FCO chapter at SCO began to venture into mission trips three years ago.

The FCO students worked year-round gathering supplies for their trip. Materials include eyeglasses, antibiotics and other drugs. However, they take more than just supplies for eye care.

Dr. Newman, who serves as FCO faculty advisor, said the very nature of the FCO’s spiritual mission also allows the group to take Spanish Bibles to distribute on these trips. Stations are set up that are half clinic, half church, meaning one station conducts eye exams and other stations lead reading of religious books for children.

Falk said many of the children in the region had never had eye examinations so it proved to be a major experience for them. Seventy were special needs patients, with autism, Down syndrome, deafness and learning disorders. She noted that Nicaraguan children are also more likely to experience malnutrition in early development because of inadequate diet.

“There were some who probably wouldn’t recognize someone across a room,” she said, “so it was a very life-altering experience, and we were happy to serve such an underserved and deserving population.”

SCO’s students also brought toys with them, in addition to books, so they could put the children at ease during their eye examinations. The student group saw 700 children and about 100 adults at two vision screenings at the mission’s church.

“One thing I didn’t expect during the trip was how much the parents appreciated the screening of the children,” added Falk. “Our visit gave parents the peace of mind that their child had healthy, properly developing eyes.”

Spring 2009

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SCO HAPPENINGS

SECO 2009 SCO alumni could take pride in the significant accomplishments of a number of their fellow graduates at this year’s SECO International’s 2009 meeting in Atlanta.

Wilburn Lord, OD ’77, passed the presidency mantle to his successor, Jonathan Shrewsbury, OD ’81, while Martha Rosemore Greenberg, OD ’74, was feted as SECO’s OD of the South and Chevron Ergle, OD ’04, as SECO’s Young OD of the South. During his remarks to the well-attended Alumni and President’s Receptions, Dr. Phillips noted the accomplishments of alumni are a proud reflection upon the graduates’ alma mater.

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The Hayes Center for Practice Excellence hosted a Spring Practice Management Symposium in conjunction with the Optometry Association of Louisiana on March 28 in Bossier City, Louisiana. Featured speaker was practice management expert and Hayes Center founder Jerry Hayes, OD ’73.

A second Joining the Generations program event was held for the Arkansas Optometric Association’s Spring Education 2009 meeting during April 23-25 in Little Rock. The course was designed to be a resource for established practice owners, mid-career ODs and recent graduates. The course provided a framework of financial considerations, common pitfalls to avoid, and recommendations when entering into negotiations.

Sponsored in part by VSP, these meetings precede the Hayes Center’s third annual Private Practice Primer, to be held later this year in Memphis. Be sure to visit the SCO website for more information as the date nears or register your email address with SCO in order to receive email updates.

Spring 2009

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SCO HAPPENINGS

SCO Hosts First State Day

Jim Venable, OD ’89, moderating the panel discussion.

Alumni from recent years may remember Optifest, the trade show that brings vendors and state associations to campus during Homecoming.

Optifest will continue with vendors, but last year the decision was made to host state associations as a stand-alone event to facilitate more meaningful interaction between students and organized optometry.

On Wednesday, April 8, SCO hosted representatives from 12 state associations during the college’s first ever State Day. An AOA representative also attended to represent national optometry and states unable to attend the event.

AOSA Trustee Matt Willis, ’11, presents Josh Massey, ’12, right, with a panoptic donated

by Welch-Allyn.

Panelists Travis Sharpe, OD ’06, and Keith Menard, OD ’03.

Student response was overwhelming, with standing room only attendance to hear a moderated morning panel discussion about current news and initiatives from the state association level. A second moderated panel was held over lunch for first-

States in Attendance

year students. Questions for the state association representatives were submitted by students in advance, and the faculty strongly encouraged students to attend.

Each state also hosted a booth in the traditional trade showstyle format in SCO’s Activity Center. The event afforded students opportunities to network and learn more about practice in states that interest them.

Alabama Arkansas Georgia Illinois Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Mississippi North Carolina South Carolina Tennessee Utah

A number of alumni attended and represented their respective states, including Martha Rosemore Greenberg, OD ’74 (Alabama),

schools and colleges of

Annette Webb, OD ’95 (Arkansas), Horace Deal, OD ’97 (Georgia),

optometry.

Travis Sharpe, OD ’06 (Kansas), Rod Rallo, OD ’80 and Amanda

“State Day brought

Higdon, OD ’07 (Kentucky), Keith Menard, OD ’03 (Louisiana), David

us into contact with a

Parker, OD ’95 (Mississippi), Hal Herring, OD ’74 (North Carolina),

number of students who

John Smith, OD ’80 (South Carolina), Chris Eiler, OD ’01 and Jeff

were seriously interested

Foster, OD ’81 (Tennessee), and Mark Taylor, OD ’97 (Utah).

in practicing in our state,”

Also in attendance were several state association directors

noted Horace Deal, OD

and representatives, including Vicki Farmer, Executive Director

’97. “All of us have been

of the Arkansas Optometric Association; Tom Spetalnick, OD,

impressed and would

from Georgia; Michael Horstman, Executive Director of the Illinois

like to see this event held

Optometric Association; Robert Blumthal, OD, President of the

elsewhere.”

Illinois Optometric Association; Darlene Eaken, Executive Director

Special thanks go to

of the Kentucky Optometric Association; Linda Ross Aldy, Executive

Welch-Allyn for donating a

Director of the Mississippi Optometric Association; Bridget Jones,

panoptic valued at $700 as

Associate Director of the Tennessee Optometric Association; and

a student door prize, to VSP

Denise Kincaid from the AOA.

and the Hayes Center for

A number of representatives expressed their appreciation

Practice Excellence at SCO

for SCO being the first optometry school to host such an event

for additional support of

along with their hope that the practice catches on at the other

this educational program.

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Denise Kincaid, left, represents the AOA.

Linda Ross Aldy, right, represents Mississippi.

philanthropy matters

Ronald Blum, OD ’72

Why I Give Honoring Employee Who Devoted Himself to Serving Others Mark Murphy seemed to give all he had to so many people. After the death of their son in 1994, he and his wife, Francine, made an endowment to Wilderness Inquiry, an organization which arranges outdoor experiences for both disabled and able-bodied people.

The Murphys supported many other charities. They established The Bliss House in Ontario, to welcome disabled, nonverbal adults and provide a “northern” experience for its visitors.

Murphy’s devotion to others made such an impression on his employer, Ronald Blum, OD ’72, that it was only fitting to honor Murphy after his untimely death from cancer on October 24, 2008.

Dr. Blum recently established an endowed scholarship at SCO in Murphy’s name on behalf of The Egg Factory (TEF), the company founded by Blum in 1998.

“Mark was a special person willing to help and mentor people,” says Dr. Blum, President/CEO and Chairman of PixelOptics, a subsidiary of The Egg Factory.

Murphy served as President of Supply Chain Services, a division of Johnson and Johnson Health Care Systems, Inc. He also served as President of Johnson and Johnson Hospital Services, Inc., and

worked with Innotech, Dr. Blum’s first company.

Founded by Dr. Blum in 1990, Innotech was purchased by Johnson and Johnson in 1997.

“Mark was a very successful businessman and finance man who was instrumental in working on the board of our parent company,” Dr. Blum says.

Murphy was a part of his parent company’s team since its inception by Dr. Blum. The Egg Factory fosters innovation with an emphasis on optics and ophthalmics.

“Mark was involved at the beginning of Egg Factory and did not get to see it to the end because it has been in development for so long,” Blum says, “but, it’s no longer smoke and mirrors.”

Dr. Blum’s company has been working on an Electro-Active Lens Technology that would be used to correct presbyopia and is nearing the end of the development stage. He says Murphy is the only team member who will not get to see the project to fruition.

Dr. Blum says TEF’s mission is to further optometry’s reach.

“We try to come up with innovations that will help mankind,” he says. “We’re helping the profession and helping people see better.”

Dr. Blum became interested in optometry as a child growing up in Kingsport, Tennessee, where he observed the late Leonard Supman, OD ’40.

“Leonard was always someone you admired as you were growing up,” he says. “Through him I became very interested in vision care.”

To honor his role model, Dr. Blum has also annually contributed to the Dr. J. Leonard Supman Memorial Endowed Scholarship at SCO. After graduating from SCO, Dr. Blum founded Drs. Blum, Newman, Blackstock & Associates, Optometrists, P.C., in 1977 in Roanoke, Virginia.

He says he grew the practice for 20 years before he decided to become an inventor.

“We’re all blessed with different abilities – basketball, football, – I invent,” Dr. Blum said.

Dr. Blum has spent the last two decades using his abilities to give back to, and further, the science of optometry. With the passing of his friend and associate, Mark Murphy, Dr. Blum is now giving back to SCO to honor his friend and to support optometric education in order for a young person to achieve his or her potential.

2008 Community Phonathon Raises $38,000 for SCO Community Phonathon recently returned for its second year, and SCO’s organizations and student volunteers were up to the challenge set by the previous year’s success. During the fall of 2008, Institutional Advancement offered student organizations the opportunity for their members to volunteer by calling alumni, updating alumni records and raising money for SCO. The results of the 2008 Community Phonathon surpassed the previous year’s totals.

With a 20% increase in gifts received over the previous year, 2008 demonstrated the loyalty and commitment of SCO’s alumni.

During the 15 nights of calling, gifts and pledges exceeded $38,000. Student organizations benefitted as each participating student organization received a part of the $3,000 awarded by Director of Development Brenda Pearson during February’s Student Government Association (SGA) meeting.

Participating organizations included COVD, FCO, Gamma Omicron, Lions Club, NOSA, OPP, ssTOA, Texas Student Organization, and SVOSH. The Community Phonathon is truly a winwin situation as students enjoy the opportunity to talk with alumni, with each contact benefiting SCO and the student organization.

“The continued success of Phonathon is totally dependent upon the alumni, who, when called, respond with conversation and a gift.

It has a tremendous impact on the student, who has a meaningful and insightful conversation with an alumnus practicing optometry,” com­mented Pearson, coordinator of the event.

Please call or email the Office of Institut­ ional Advancement if you would like more information about Phonathon at 1-800-2380180, ext. 4, or email alumni@sco.edu.

Spring 2009

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Quarterly Donor Report Our special thanks to the Burton P. Bodan, OD ’53 following donors who made a Margo D. Boler, OD ’01 donation between October 1, 2008 Miguel A. Bosch, Jr., OD ’85 and December 31, 2008.

Richard M. Bossin, OD ’74 Donna Abney, MBA Eric K. Botts, OD ’92

Douglas L. Conrath, OD ’66

Randall D. Bowling, OD ’71

Melanie A. Crandall, OD ’77

Dwight D. Boyd, OD ’90

Robert M. Cress, OD ’75

Brittany B. Boyette, OD ’07

G. Robert Crosby, OD ’63

Delrita Branch

William M. Crow, OD ’49

Crystal M. Brimer, OD ’00

James P. Crutchfield, OD ’65

William B. Brookshire

Troy L. Currier, OD ’97

Glen E. Bryant, Sr., OD ’49

Angela L. Dabbs, OD ’06

Norman W. Bryant, OD ’82

Robert M. Dacus, OD ’77

Christopher T. Bullin, OD ’07

David A. Damari, OD and Mrs. Rita Frumento Damari

Joyce R. Adema, OD ’49

Advanced Medical Optics, Inc. David K. Adwan, OD ’80 Robert P. Aitken, OD ’84 Paul Ajamian, OD Charles H. Aldridge, Jr., OD ’80 Michael W. Alexander, OD ’80 Ronald D. Allen, OD ’63 Timothy P. Allen, OD ’70 American Optometric Foundation R. Keith Amiel, OD ’68 Shelly Anastasio, OD ’02 and Jeffrey M. Anastasio, OD ’01 Daniel S. Anderson Kristin K. Anderson, OD and Christopher Lievens, OD, MS

Jennifer K. Bulmann, OD Roger L. Burch, OD ’72 Dwight M. Burchett, OD ’02 Marilyn S. Burich, OD ’95 James H. Burke, OD ’77 James M. Burns, OD ’75

Lisa C. Anderson

George N. Butterworth, OD ’04

Walter C. Angel, OD ’67

T. Joel Byars, OD ’63

Rufus B. Antley, OD ’60

Alan L. Byrd, OD ’95

Gary S. Appel, OD ’79

Winona M. Caldwell

Mark E. Appel, OD ’88

Charles A. Callaway, OD ’83

Sara K. Armand, OD ’06

Eugene R. Cantwell, OD ’49

David A. Arthur, OD ’66

Raymond M. Carozza, OD ’06

William S. Ashley, OD ’80

Robert R. Carper, OD ’50, USA (Ret.)

Jo-Ann B. Augustine

Thomas V. Casella, OD ’78

Lady Britton Aycock, OD ’90

Joe A. Chambers, OD ’70

Habib Azizi, OD ’02

Russell H. Chambless, OD ’85

J. Dean Baggett, OD ’83

Donna Chaney-Sayre, OD ’89

Cynthia E. Baker, OD ’83 and Joseph H. Baker, OD ’83

Freddy W. Chang, OD, MS, PhD

Paula L. Baker

Darby Chiasson, OD ’99

George M. Bakowski, OD ’73 R. Dianne Balazsy Mary Kay Ball Ron M. Bannister, OD ’77 Allan Leslie Barker, OD ’75 and Susan S. Barker Currie Dean Barker, OD ’58 Darla Barrow, OD ’98 Joseph J. Beaman, OD ’68 Kathryn M. Beggs, OD ’85 Roger L. Benjamin, OD ’85 William S. Benkelman, OD ’67 Beth and Brad Besner Patricia Besner JoAnne and Stanley Besner

Camile L. Chiasson, OD ’81 Amy Chiu, OD ’02 Rohit R. Chopra, OD ’01 Dr. Corey Christensen Lynn H. Church, OD ’62 Beverly Clark Jerry L. Clay Lurley C. Clifton James O. Cloepfil, OD ’82 Fred S. Cloninger, OD ’65 Mark G. Coble, OD ’77 Glenn M. Cochran, OD ’80 William E. Cochran, OD ’68 and Mrs. Carolyn Cochran Hubert Cockrum, OD ’77

Ray D. Bess, OD ’63

William C. Coffee, OD ’72 and Mrs. Dixie T. Coffee

Randy Birt, OD ’02

Mark J. Cook, OD ’78 James T. Cooperwood James V. Cornetta, OD ’81 Tifton C. Covington, OD ’91

Robert C. Fitzhugh, OD ’79 and Mrs. Linda S. Fitzhugh

Andrew Hartmann

Gerald A. Krumbholz, OD ’65

Betty J. Harville, OD

Paul LaFreniere

James Fleming, OD

Whitney H. Hauser, OD ’01 and Joseph H. Hauser, MBA

Joseph A. Lamendola, Jr., OD ’62

Sadie M. Fleming

Cynthia Heard, OD

Howard F. Flippin, OD ’59

William G. Hendrix, OD ’55

Laura L. Flockencier, OD ’94

Gary C. Hodges, OD ’64

L. Allen Fors, OD ’69, MEd

Courtney G. Hoffman, OD ’00 and Matthew E. Hoffman, OD ’00

Carol A. Fleming

Dr. Jim Fouch David L. Foutch, OD ’87 Phillip Patrick Fowler, OD ’03 William E. Fox, OD ’80 Pateaka Franklin Crystal L. Franklin-Truss, OD ’07 Kerri Frazier

David L. Davidson, OD ’64

Cecily Freeman

William Herbert Davis, Jr., OD ’63

Dan E. Freeman, OD ’72

Horace Deal, OD ’97

Paul T. Fulghum, OD ’83

William R. Dellinger, OD ’64

Lynn Ray Gabe, OD ’73

Thomas F. Deloatch, OD ’82

Stacy L. Gandy, OD ’92 and Jimmy S. Gandy, OD ’92

Harry R. Denison, OD ’66 Paul W. Derrick, OD ’70 James W. Devine, OD ’83 William M. Dickerson, Jr., OD ’79 Velma J. Dickson Shawn P. Doherty, OD ’83 Belvin G. Dollins, OD ’51 Heidi B. Doucet, OD ’02 Karen Joyner Douglas, OD ’00 and Joseph Kent Douglas, OD ’00 David H. Dow, OD ’74 Max M. Downey, OD ’81 Susan M. Doyle Robin J. Drescher, OD, MS Kelly F. Duke, Jr., OD ’77 Janette D. Dumas, OD Jason D. Duncan, OD ’96 Craig W. Dunlap, OD ’94 Jeremy Michael Durham, OD ’03 James A. Eaton, OD ’67 Gerald A. Eisenstatt, OD ’84 Lindsay C. Elkins, OD ’07 J. Grady Elliott, Jr., OD ’92 Norman L. Elliott, OD ’65 M. Scott Ensor, OD ’01 Robert M. Epstein, OD ’74 Chevron L. Ergle, OD ’04 Tressa F. Eubank, OD Sunnie J. Ewing Richard E. Falls, OD ’67

Julie Fender Hogan, OD ’02 and Christopher M. Hogan, OD ’01 Litewell B. Holbrook, OD ’63 Michael V. Holland, OD ’90 Jim Hollifield William M. Holman, OD ’92 Gary S. Holtzman, OD ’92 William Hopper Richard L. Hopping, OD ’52 Robert D. Houghteling, OD ’95 Mona G. Howard Benjamin T. Hubbard, Jr., OD ’95

Katherine H. Laney, OD , DO ’99 Harold L. Lashlee Vicki B. Lauer, OD ’98 and Scott M. Lauer, OD ’98 Charles D. Lawler, OD ’64 Mike Lawson Steven G. Laymon, OD ’85 Louis J. Layton, OD ’67 Carrie D. Lebowitz, OD ’06 William Lennon Thomas Lentz, OD ’76 Kevin G. Loesch, OD ’93 Arthur W. H. Loo, OD ’50 Gary B. Lukes, OD ’83 G. Steven Malone, OD ’80 Gary L. Mancil, OD ’82 Willis C. Maples, OD ’68, MS Marchon Eyewear, Inc.

Ronald B. Gantt, OD ’67

Charles R. Hughes, Jr., OD ’86

John M. Garber, OD ’76

Marty L. Hughes, OD ’97

Cindy Garner

Donald P. Humphrey, OD ’72

Thomas J. Garrity, OD ’74

Freeman E. Huskey, Jr., OD ’77

Tammy and Robert Gates

Arnold M. Huskins, OD ’88

John A. Gazaway, OD ’67

Arthur Thomas Hyde, OD ’76

Herman George

John Mark Jackson, OD ’99, MS

Timothy L. Gibbons, OD ’04

Edward T. Jacobs, OD ’01

Frank S. Gibson, OD ’68

Allyn H. Jacobson, OD ’72

Lowell H. Gilbert, OD ’65

James B. Jalenak, Esq.

Sue and Joe Gilliland

W. Michael Jamison, OD ’82

Alan L. Ginsburg, OD ’76

Jerry D. Jenks, OD ’75

Mark B. Givens, OD ’71

Gordon W. Jennings, OD ’81

W. Carter Glass, OD ’76

John B. Jiu, OD ’77

Thomas K. Gober, OD ’83

John-Kenyon American Eye Institute

Glenn I. Goldring, OD ’78

Jarrett A. Johnson, OD ’90

Larry S. Golson, OD ’02

Jolynn and Kenneth Johnson

N. Scott Gorman, OD ’73

Ray H. Johnson, OD ’68

Jason A. Gould, OD ’04

Michael V. Johnston, OD ’89

Paul A. Granada, OD ’48

Jennifer L. Jones, OD ’06

Stuart M. Greenberg, OD ’01

Robert B. Jordan, OD ’88

Stephen R. Griffin, OD ’83

William H. Kahn, OD ’65

T. Powers Griffin, Jr., OD ’78

Jay A. Keesling, OD ’76

Herman H. Grothe, OD ’69

Marie C. Kelly, OD ’85

Neil R. Gurwitz, OD ’50

Kentucky Optometric Foundation

Garry Haas, OD ’67

Aaron Kerr, OD ’98

George L. Haffner, OD ’58

Amy C. Kimball

Arthur Andy Haley, OD ’90

Jay R. Kimberley, OD ’80

David H. Mills, OD ’78

Rebecca Hames

Helen J. King, OD ’83 and Christopher B. King, OD ’83

Robert C. Mills, Jr., OD ’89 Robert L. Mills, OD ’67

Nelson C. Klaus, Jr., OD ’72

J. Robert Mitchem, OD ’60

Franklin D. Martin, OD ’60 Erie Mathena Mark E. Mather, OD ’76 Sherry D. Mattingly John A. May, OD ’63 Lara E. May, OD ’00 Jerry W. McBride, OD ’70 Lenward R. McCalla, OD ’85 George S. McCarter, OD ’76 James L. McCord, Jr., OD ’54 Robert W. McCullough, OD ’77 Douglas V. McKillip, OD ’70 David McMindes Michael S. McQuaig, OD ’77 Lorie M. McReynolds, OD ’00 H. Lowell Meister, Jr., OD ’59 Kathryn G. Melonas Raymundo G. Mendoza, OD ’84 Allyson P. Mertins, OD ’97 Robert E. Meyer, OD ’53 Paul D. Michalove, OD ’66 Miguel Miciano Cara Mikelsons Allison Haddad Miller, OD ’00 Henry B. Miller, OD ’77 Keith L. Miller, OD ’86

Curtis L. Farrar, OD ’72

Debra A. Hammerer, OD ’82 and John R. Hammerer, OD ’82

Harold S. Cohen, OD ’47

Ann Z. Fields

L. Shepard Hamrick, Jr., OD ’81

J. Keith Kleinert, OD ’86

Terry D. Moehnke, OD ’77

Larry E. Blackmon, OD ’68

Jeffrey H. Cohen, OD ’72

Tim R. Fields, OD ’83

Dixie Harber

Amy J. Knickerbocker, OD ’99

Nicole Y. Monroe, OD ’99

Robin S. Blair, OD ’74

Brandy and Leonard Cohen

Pamela L. Finley, OD ’95

Paul L. Harman, OD ’86

Robert A. Koetting, OD ’47

Stacie Moore, OD ’00

Iola Blake

Brian E. Colletto, OD ’01

Alan P. Fisher, OD ’75

Matthew H. Harpin, OD ’01

Patricia M. Kowalski, OD ’88

Richard E. Morgan, OD ’61

Alan L. Blatterman, OD ’73

Steven L. Compton, OD ’78

Beth Fisher

Kathryn A. Harrington

Mildred and Murray Kozinn

Sandra C. Morgan

Joseph H. Blum, Jr., OD ’53

Charles G. Connor, Jr., MA, PhD, OD

David Fisher, Jr., OD ’90

Nancy and Tom Harris

Norman Krell, OD ’53

Paul D. Mormon, OD ’01

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Dale L. Morris, OD ’73

Kristina L. Ramsey, OD ’07

Misti R. Smith, OD ’07

Terry L. Tucker, OD ’84

Giovanna Marie Moses, OD ’02

Linda Rangel

Greg Turnage

Daniel O. Mosser, OD ’81

Dewey E. Raynor, OD ’73

Rosalind O. Smith, OD ’76 and Theron C. Smith, III, OD ’74

Kenneth Mulholland, Jr.

J. Eric Raynor, OD ’93

Haylie Lynne Mulliniks, OD ’07

Wallis E. Reagin, OD ’49

M. Shay Murphy, OD ’02

J. Gregory Reasons, OD ’87

John C. Myers, OD ’89

Douglas V. Reeves, OD ’81

Charles A. Nassauer, OD ’82

Lewis Reich, OD, PhD

John Michael Neal, OD ’07

Leon A. Renaud, OD ’73

Michael Neff, OD ’68

William T. Reynolds, OD ’85

Maryke Neiberg, OD

Phillip D. Rhoads, OD ’89

Jeff Netzel, OD ’02

Miles W. Rhyne, Jr., OD ’74

James M. Newman, III, OD ’73, MS

J. Scott Richardson, OD ’75

Ha Thi Nguyen, OD ’05

Rhett H. Richardson, OD ’83

Zakiya Nicks, OD

Tchula M. Ripton, OD ’98

John L. Noe, OD ’64

Beth and Phil Rives

Dana M. Nolan, OD ’98 Jill O’Brien

Jennifer Sanderson, OD and Andrew J. Rixon, OD

Keith M. Oliver, OD ’79 Delma Ortiz

Larry D. Snider, OD ’76 Gary R. Snuffin Gary M. Soifer, OD ’80 Hosea J. Soileau, Jr., OD ’79 Thomas Soviar, OD ’83 W. Craig Spangler, OD ’70 Bernard I. Sparks, III, OD ’77, MS Sylvia E. Sparrow, OD ’98 William R. Spooner, OD ’76 W. David Spruill, OD ’77 Alta I. Spurrier, OD ’68 Kevin D. Stallard, OD ’96 Glen T. Steele, OD ’69 and Brenda Steele

Judy Turnage Lisa and Terry Turner William L. Turner, OD ’79 Laurel L. Van Horn, OD ’99 Tarra L. Vander Leest, OD ’04 Brooke C. Vegas, OD ’07 Abner Velasco, OD ’99 James E. Venable, OD ’89 Bree S. Vickers, OD ’02 Robert R. Vincent, OD ’81 G. Robert Vines, OD ’53

Alumni Council Scholarship Allan Leslie Barker, OD ’75 and Susan S. Barker Judith A. Clay, OD ’70 and Edward K. Walker, OD ’49 Steven L. Compton, OD ’78 Lowell H. Gilbert, OD ’65 Stuart M. Greenberg, OD ’01 Howard B. Levinson, OD ’76 Paul D. Mormon, OD ’01 Dale L. Morris, OD ’73 Larry Otten, OD ’77 James D. Sandefur, OD ’65 Henry V. Sawyer, Jr., OD ’78 Sallye S. Scott, OD ’78 Mark J. Murphy Scholarship The Egg Factory Ronald D. Blum, OD ’72

Audra D. Steiner, OD ’00

Debarah A. Wallace, OD ’86 and Peter C. Dubin, OD ’86

Sandra Stephens

Penny K. Walker

Gary A. Roach, OD ’72

William E. Sterling, Jr., OD ’75

Mark C. Ward, OD ’86

Bob G. Roberts, OD ’74

Sidney J. Stern, OD ’71

Pete Wardell, OD ’05

Dr. and Mrs. John Ostrowski

Michael N. Robertson

Floyd J. Stewart, OD ’04

Terry M. Warren, OD ’79

Larry Otten, OD ’77

Robertson Optical Laboratories, Inc.

Anthony L. Stubits, OD ’82

Annette G. Webb, OD ’95

Lyn Brown Oxley, OD ’84

William E. Robinson, Jr., OD ’74

James W. Stuckey, OD ’75

Michael L. Weeden, OD ’92

Terri and Keith Paglusch

Earl H. Rock, OD ’68

Jerome Sude, OD ’72

David West

Jerry B. Park, OD ’66

Richard L. Roenfeldt, OD ’82

Jerry M. Sullivan

Ralph E. Parkansky, OD, MS, MBA

Frank A. Romano, OD ’78

Harry M. Sulzberger, OD ’63

Jerry D. West, OD ’72

David L. Parker, OD ’95

Frank E. Roofe, III, OD ’80

William C. Sutherland, OD ’66

James L. Parkerson, OD ’77

Walter S. Rose, OD ’90

J. Craig Swaim, OD ’77

Randall T. Parrish, Jr., OD ’78

Marion Rosemore

Kimberly A. Swan, OD ’03

Ralph C. Patterson, OD ’69

Mark D. Roudebush, OD ’91

Sandra L. Swaringen, OD ’81

W. Stan Peacock, OD ’84

Mark J. Roy, III, OD ’02

Dean Swick, MBA

Brenda and Greg Pearson

Milton J. Salomon, OD ’66

Sharon E. Tabachnick, PhD

John S. Peery, OD ’84

James D. Sandefur, OD ’65

Mike Tannehill, OD ’75

George W. Pegram, III, OD ’92

Richard Savoy, OD

Marc Taub, OD

Jane Pemberton-Hansen

Henry V. Sawyer, Jr., OD ’78

Daniel A. Taylor, OD ’06, MS

Mary Lee Pemberton, OD ’98

Charles A. Schaible, OD ’74

Donald R. Taylor, OD ’69

Brenda M. Phelps Clifford I. Phillips, OD ’78

W. Wayne West, OD ’68 Patricia Westfall, OD ’99 Harriet and David Whiting Stan J. Whitley, OD ’83 Kimberly A. Wilkins Leonard Wilkins, OD ’68 Carrie Williams, OD ’02 Leslie and Robert Williams Barry A. Winston, OD ’74

Willis C. Maples, OD ’68, MS Glen T. Steele, OD ’69

Lynne Amiel R. Keith Amiel, OD ’68 Lena Blum Joseph H. Blum, Jr., OD ’53

Virgil L. Rhodes, OD ’50 and Mrs. Peggy Rhodes David L. Foutch, OD ’87 Richard W. Phillips, OD ’78

Colonel Edward “Buzz” Bzdula, OD ’81 Timothy P. Allen, OD ’70

W. A. Ritchie, OD ’46 Harold S. Cohen, OD ’47

Mr. and Mrs. Lennox Chang Freddy W. Chang, OD, MS, PhD

Robyn Russell, OD Glen T. Steele, OD ’69

Norwood G. Davis, OD ’73 Dewey E. Raynor, OD ’73

Alan D. Scott, OD ’75

Wyatt R. Taylor, OD ’64

Frederick J. Wright, OD ’69

David E. Phillips, OD ’75

Sallye S. Scott, OD ’78

David Teed, OD ’02

Harmon E. Wyett, OD ’50

Richard W. Phillips, OD ’78

SECO International, Inc.

Jerome M. Tempel, OD ’78

James E. Yarbrough, OD ’72

Robert H. Pierce, Jr., OD ’85

Valerie B. Seligson, OD ’83

Lisa M. Temple

Cheryl D. Johnson, OD ’82 Lisa M. Temple Tressa F. Eubank, OD Jolynn and Kenneth Johnson

William J. Yearta, OD ’72

Guy R. Pike

E. Michelle Sellers

The Egg Factory, LLC

William L. Yoos, OD ’92

PMC Commercial Trust

Travis K. Sharpe, OD ’06

Thomas E. Theobald, OD ’63

Anton L. Young, OD ’62

William Poe

Andrea E. Shelton, OD ’03

James P. Theroux, OD ’87

Geoffrey Ryan H. Powell, OD ’02

Owen M. Shirts, OD ’84

Angela M. Thomas, OD ’89

Bruce G. Young, OD ’74 and Ruth Ann Young

Richard L. Powell, OD ’68

Curtis C. Shockley, OD ’61

Charles E. Thomas, OD ’84

Cynthia Lynn Zara, OD ’03

Tony G. Powers, OD ’87

Steven R. Shum, OD ’71

Chad J. Thompson, OD ’99

Leigh P. Ziegler, OD ’92

Sue T. Prchal, OD ’79 and Gerald J. Prchal, OD ’79

Michael R. Sigmon, OD ’89

Duane Thompson, OD ’99

Eugene Zuckerman, OD ’47

Precision Optical Laboratory, Inc.

J. Scott Simpson, OD ’75

Frederick W. Tillman, OD ’81

Wayne W. Pyeatt

April D. Smith, OD ’98 and Brian D. Smith, OD ’98

Paul C. Tisdal, OD ’81 Jean Ann Toomey, OD ’85

Douglas E. Radish, OD ’82

Denson L. Smith, OD ’50

Lisa C. Tracy

Brett K. Radow, OD ’80

F. Mason Smith, OD ’76

Kevin Tran, OD ’02

Brenda H. Rakestraw

Frank G. Smith, III

Marty S. Traylor, OD ’00

Rod L. Rallo, OD ’80

John W. Smith, OD ’80

Howard W. Tucker, Jr., OD ’63

Scholarships and Named Rooms

James D. Sandefur, OD ’65 Cynthia E. Baker, OD ’83 and Joseph H. Baker, OD ’83

Irving L. Dunsky Tressa F. Eubank, OD Arnold M. Huskins, OD ’88

Thomas F. Schobelock, OD ’87

Robert W. Smalling, OD ’74

The Russo Family Joyce R. Adema, OD ’49

Jimmy C. Dawson, OD ’72 Curtis L. Farrar, OD ’72

Dr. Greene Keith L. Miller, OD ’86

Lindsay Prockish

Sally and James Dumas Janette D. Dumas, OD

In Memory of…

Neta B. Wood, OD ’77 and Douglas R. Wood, OD ’77

James L. Price, Jr., OD ’74

Janette D. Dumas, OD Glen T. Steele, OD ’69

Martha Rosemore Greenberg, OD ’74 Ron M. Bannister, OD ’77

Mark A. Taylor, OD ’97

Charlie P. Tillman, Jr., OD ’83

David Damari, OD Glen T. Steele, OD ’69

Donations between October 1, 2008 and December 31, 2008.

Jerry M. Winston, OD ’67

William D. Simmons, OD ’62

William E. Cochran, OD ’68 W. Wayne West, OD ’68

L. Allen Fors, OD ’69, MEd Glen T. Steele, OD ’69

Tributes

Richard A. Goodson, OD ’66 Lisa M. Temple

John F. Thompson, OD ’74

In Honor of…

Tressa F. Eubank, OD Glen T. Steele, OD ’69

Vision Service Plan Lisa Rossmeyer Wade, OD ’84

Charles A. Wood, III, OD ’60 Franklin D. Martin, OD ’60

Allan G. Schoen, OD ’72, MEd Glen T. Steele, OD ’69 Daniel E. Smith, OD ’94 Glen T. Steele, OD ’69 Glen T. Steele, OD ’69 Michael Neff, OD ’68 Scott B. Steinman, OD, PhD Glen T. Steele, OD ’69

Fredric M. Rosemore, OD ’48 Ron M. Bannister, OD ’77 Beth and Brad Besner JoAnne and Stanley Besner Brandy and Leonard Cohen Sue and Joe Gilliland Whitney H. Hauser, OD ’01 and Joseph H. Hauser, MBA Mildred and Murray Kozinn PMC Commercial Trust Lisa and Terry Turner Harriet and David Whiting Leslie and Robert Williams Mr. and Mrs. Hosea Soileau, Sr. Hosea J. Soileau, Jr., OD ’79

John W. Sprinkel, III, OD, ’00 Audra D. Steiner, OD ’00 The following have established Leonard Rovery and/or made a new pledge for a Daniel A. Taylor, OD ’06, MS scholarship or named a room in The Eye Center between October 1, Jack Craig Warren, OD ’77 Terry M. Warren, OD ’79 2008 and December 31, 2008.

Marc Taub, OD Glen T. Steele, OD ’69 James E. Venable, OD ’89 Glen T. Steele, OD ’69

Every effort has been made to correctly list the names of all donors.

If your name is listed incorrectly or has been omitted, please notify the Office of Institutional Advancement at (800) 238-0180, ext. 4.

Spring 2009

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CLASS Notes

Send us news of your accomplishments along with a photo. Items will appear in the magazine or in our monthly alumni e-newsletter, SCOnline. Send to the Office of Institutional Advancement, 1245 Madison Avenue, Memphis, TN 38104-2222; fax 901-722-3379 or email alumni@sco.edu.

’40s Jack Runninger, OD ’47, married Helen Hayes Cobb on November 8, 2008. The Runningers have known each other for 50 years through membership in their church choir. Prior to the deaths of their previous spouses, Dr. Runninger was married 60 years and Helen for 56 years. With a total of 116 years of marriage between them, Dr. Runninger notes that he told the officiating minister not to worry about the couple’s readiness for the responsibilities of marriage.

’60s

Leon Gresham, OD ’63, recently authored an article for the (Georgia) Calhoun Times newspaper entitled, “Good eyesight is a quality of life issue as we grow older.” The article gave readers advice on dealing with age-related vision issues.

Terry Swinger, OD ’64, was re-elected in November to the Missouri House of Representatives, while James F. Morrison, OD ’67, was re-elected to the Kansas House of Representatives.

George I. Wike, Jr., OD ’67, has been elected Chairman of the Board of Directors of Cornerstone Bancorp, holding company of Cornerstone National Bank in Easley, South Carolina. Dr. Wike was one of Cornerstone’s original organizers and has been a member of the boards of both Cornerstone Bancorp and

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Cornerstone National Bank since their inception in 1999.

Don Williamson, OD ’67, was one of the top six eye care professionals across the nation recently recognized for outstanding performance in the Davis Vision provider recognition program. Selections were made through an extensive evaluation process that included patient surveys and peer reviews. Dr. Williamson has practiced in Cape Coral, Florida since 1973.

’70s George Haas, OD ’70, was recently reappointed to serve on the Arkansas State Board of Optometry.

Terry Moehnke, OD ’77, was named Sertoman of the Year by the Fort Dodge Sertoma Club in Iowa.

Lonnie Randolph, OD ’77, recently spoke at a program honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at South Carolina State University. Dr.

Randolph has served the past five years as president of the South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP and as president of the Columbia chapter of the NAACP. He also serves as chairman of South Carolina’s State Consumer Affairs Commission.

had served as a preceptor. The group included Hank Murray, OD ’79, Phil Wilmoth, OD ’84, Kent Hall, OD ’85, Greg Moore, OD ’87, Travis Taylor, OD ’96, Marty Carpenter, OD ’03, and student T.W. Moore, ’10.

SCO President Richard W. Phillips, OD ‘78, reports the birth of a new grandson. Logan William Reading was born Sunday, March 15 to Dr. Phillips’ daughter, Melissa Reading, and her husband, Jon Reading. Logan weighed in at 8 lbs., 4 ozs., and measured 20.5 inches long. Mother and son are doing fine, and Dr. Phillips is planning on Logan graduating from SCO around the year 2035.

’80s

Brian Weber, OD ’78, was recently named Eye Care Professional Magazine’s OD of the Month.

Larry Williams, OD ’78, was recently honored with a surprise party to mark his 30th anniversary in practice. Dr. Williams was joined by a large number of West Virginia SCO alumni, many for whom he

Craig M. McCormick, OD ‘81, recently received the Distinguished Optometrist of the Year Award from the Minnesota Optometric Association.

Carol Scott, OD ’83, was recently elected President of the College of Optometrists in Vision Development (COVD).

Lisa R. Wade, OD ’84, Professor Emerita, was recently profiled in the Memphis Business Journal. The article focused on her ownership of Horn Lake, Mississippi’s Southern Thunder Harley Davidson dealership. The publication reported that Dr. Wade is starting construction on a new location for her dealership.

Louisiana ODs Serve Each Other in Time of Need Two SCO alumni from Louisiana — Jack (Jay) Miller, OD ’59 and David Fisher, OD ’90 — were recently profiled in an AOA News story about a group they founded, along with Tim Barry, OD, called Acadiana Optometric Round Table Association (AORTA).

Members of AORTA fill in for a colleague in the event of long-term illness or untimely death. Group members filled in for Joey Soileau, OD ’79, during his six-week recuperation from quadruple bypass surgery several years ago.

The idea was originally conceived by area ODs who covered for Dr. Miller’s father during surgery several decades earlier. Members meet several times a year to strengthen ties between ODs who practice along the same practice modalities.

Group members adhere to three tenets: a sharing of ideas and experiences, taking turns sponsoring their gatherings, and covering for any member in time of need of three and a half to four days per week for more than eight weeks. Each member fills in a half day every other week to cover the member in need.

In addition to Drs. Miller, Fisher, and Soileau, other SCO alumni among AORTA’s membership ranks include Jack Wise, OD ’77, Rick LaCombe, OD ’82, Sara Armand, OD ’06, and Gerald Gerdes, OD ’02.

IN Memoriam

’90s Stephen Clark, OD ’95, recently participated in Job Shadow Day held for McMinn County, Tennessee students. Dr. Clark, who practices at Keylon Eyecare in Athens, was shadowed by high school junior Natalie Bernhard, who told a local newspaper that she found optometry very interesting.

Lee St. Pierre, OD ’97, was recently reappointed to serve on the Arkansas Board of Dispensing Opticians.

Bradley Thompson, OD ’99, was named Young OD of the Year by the Mississippi Optometric Association.

Patricia Westfall, OD ’99, married Travis Elsberry on December 27, 2008.

’00s Eric H. Barnes, OD ’00, and his wife, Janine, report the birth of a son, Nathaniel Eric Barnes, born February 4, 2009.

Jennifer Floyd, OD ’00, and her husband, Jason, had their third child, Cason Jace, born January 11, 2009.

Mark Shirey, OD ’00, was named Young OD of the Year by the Alabama Optometric Association.

Larry Golson, OD ’02, has been elected to serve on the Asheville, North Carolina Area Arts Council Board of Directors.

Rebecca (Williamson) Brown, OD ’03, recently received the Key Optometrist of the Year Award from the Ohio Optometric

Association. She was also named a “Mahoning Valley Top 40 Under 40” honoree. Dr. Brown is currently serving in her second year on the AOA State Government Relations Center Committee and in her second year as Northeastern Ohio Optometric Association Governor.

Martin Carpenter, OD ’03, has been appointed to serve on the West Virginia Optometric Association’s executive board.

Chevron Ergle, OD ’04, and his wife, Angela, welcomed a baby girl, Hannah Kincade, born March 10, 2008.

Captain Jeffrey A. Newsom, OD ’05, has been named the Air Force Air Mobility Command Company Grade Optometrist of the Year for the second consecutive year.

Sherylan Webb, OD ’06, and her husband, Bill, report the birth of their first child, Eva (pronounced Ava) Marie Webb, born November 21, 2008.

Marc Helmy, OD ’08, has joined Memphis Family Vision Practice’s See Main Street downtown location. Other alumni partners include Gerald Eisenstatt, OD ’84, Greg Usdan, OD ’94, and Leonard Hampton, OD ’83.

Alicia Price, OD ’08, has joined the practice of Wallace Eye Surgery in Alexandria, Louisiana.

Bret Wise, OD ’08, was recently profiled by a Kansas newspaper.

The story noted that Dr. Wise is keeping busy meeting the demand for an optometrist in the Marion area. He also practices in Wichita and Emporia.

1939

1952

Albert C. Rhodes, OD Chattanooga, TN

Samuel F. Landreth, OD Marion, VA

1940

1953

James F. Samet, OD Mableton, GA

Dante Alexander, OD Fairfield, NJ Phillip M. Hendry, OD Minden, LA

1941 Richard F. Hosaka, OD Honolulu, HI

1947 W.C. “Bill” Clark, Jr., OD Fort Worth, TX

1948 Beaucham F. Greene, Jr., OD Bamberg, SC L. Carswell Harpe, Jr., OD Lexington, NC James N. Rowland, OD Oxford, NC

1954 Anthony Alvarez, OD Sherman, TX

1955 Clyde J. Campau, OD Appleton, WI

1957 Guy Braswell, OD Jackson, MS Samuel H. Metcalf, OD Newport News, VA

1949

1961

Wayne Williamson, OD Decatur, TX

James R. Prater, Jr., OD Florence, AL

1950

1965

Serapio Oliveira, OD El Paso, TX J. Clayton Richardson, OD Seneca, SC

Kurt J. Sunner, OD Spirit Lake, IA

1951 W. Lindy Benson, OD Amarillo, TX Emil G. Wall, OD Montgomery, TX Frank J. Youd, OD Kirkland, WA

1973 Norwood G. Davis, OD Jacksonville, NC David L. Pesce, OD W. Simsbury, CT Wesley D. Reeves, Sr., OD Ruston, LA Rodney D. Stoy, OD Arkansas City, KS

Edward Millan, Sr., OD ’40, of Norfolk, Virginia, died January 26, 2009. One of the longest practicing ODs in Virginia, he was the past president of the Tidewater Optometric Society, the Virginia Optometric Association and the Virginia Academy of Optometry.

D. Lloyd Guerin, Sr., OD ’52, of Little Rock, Arkansas, died January 26, 2009. Dr. Guerin practiced until his retirement at age 82 in 2004. He was a past president of the Arkansas Optometric Association.

Daniel Houghton, Jr., OD ’53, of Baker, Florida, died March 24, 2009.

A Korean War graduate, he served as AOA President in 1993-1994 and as president of the Florida Optometric Association in 1979. In 1992, he received the Doctor of Ocular Science degree from SCO. John V. Sims, OD ’63, of Kingsport, Tennessee, passed away January 28, 2009. A past president of the Northeast Tennessee Optometric Association, Dr. Sims is survived by his wife, Ellen Sims, OD ’63, and his brothers-in-law, Joe Chambers, OD ’70, and John Chambers, OD ’77.

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SCO FOCUS

SCO Welcomes New Faculty Patricia (Trish) Estes-Walker, OD has joined the faculty as an Assistant Professor. Dr. Walker earned her optometry degree from Northeastern State University, College of Optometry in 1996 and completed her residency the following year at the Memphis Veterans Administration Medical Center. She has served as Center Director for Vision America locations in Tennessee and Alabama and practiced at Southern Eye Associates in Memphis.

Dr. Walker will be teaching in Adult Primary Care and directing SCO’s CE program.

William Kress, OD, has joined the faculty as an instructor.

A 2007 graduate of The Ohio State University, College of Optometry, Dr. Kress earned his undergraduate degree from Ohio University. He completed his residency in Primary Care/Ocular Disease at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Faculty Promotions,

effective July 1, 2009

Jennifer Sanderson, OD, from Instructor to Assistant Professor Cheryl Ervin, OD, from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor David Damari, OD, from Associate Professor to Professor Lewis Reich, OD, PhD, from Associate Professor to Professor J. Bart Campbell, OD ’87, Professor, has been named the new chair of SCO’s Department of Optometric Education, effective July 1. The position includes oversight of both academic and clinical curriculum.

Dr. Campbell, who joined SCO in 1988, has been serving as Director of Residency Programs and Chief of Contact Lens at The Eye Center.

Faculty Highlights J. Bart Campbell, OD ’87, Professor, is the first author of a book chapter in the Clinical Manual of Contact Lenses, third edition. His full citation reads: Campbell JB, Henry VA, Marohn, JW. Soft Lens Problem Solving.

In: Bennett ES, Henry VA, eds. Clinical Manual of Contact Lenses, third edition. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2009: 291-319.

David Damari, OD, Associate Professor, recently presented at the 2008 Annual Consultants’ Meeting at the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) in Philadelphia. His presentation focused on the relationship between convergence insufficiency and ADHD. Dan Fuller, OD, Assistant Professor, authored an article entitled, “A Case of Macular Pseudohole Secondary to Epiretinal Membrane” in the March 2009 issue of Clinical and Refractive Optometry.

Cynthia Heard, OD, Associate Professor, authored an article about diabetes for the February issue of Good Health Magazine, a supplemental publication of the Memphis newspaper.

Carrie Lebowitz, OD ’06, Instructor, authored an article about glaucoma for the March issue of Best Times, a senior magazine in the Memphis area.

Sharon Lee, OD, Instructor, recently gave a “Low Vision Rehabilitation Service” presentation and device demonstration to the members of a Memphis area Lions Club.

Christopher Lievens, OD, MS, Associate Professor, recently delivered two different two-hour lectures on glaucoma and contact lens solutions

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at a meeting of the Mississippi Optometric Association in Jackson, Mississippi.

W.C. Maples, OD ’68, Professor, lectured six hours at the Heart of America’s Vision Therapy Congress in November, followed by six hours of lecture at the Southwest Congress of Optometry in January.

His topics included “Evidenced-Based Optometry”, the “Convergence Insufficiency Studies”, and “Quality of Life Issues in Optometry.”

Maryke N. Neiberg, OD, Assistant Professor, is writing a bimonthly, peer reviewed and COPE-approved column on various systemic diseases and their implications for vision and the eye. The columns appear in the Journal Of Ophthalmic Education. Recent articles published in October and December were entitled, “Carotid Artery Disease and the Eye” and “Vertebrobasilar Artery Disease and the Eye.” Jared Powelson, OD ’96, Assistant Professor, recently presented a 90-minute lecture to a first-year class of physical therapy students at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. The topic was “The Effects of Aging on the Eye.” Glen Steele, OD ’69, Professor, presented a paper entitled, “Retinoscopy and the Link between Social and Emotional, and Cognitive Milestones,” at the Kraskin Invitational Skeffington Symposium in Bethesda, Maryland. He led a course on infant examination for the New York State Practitioners Association and led another seminar on infant care for the Michigan Optometric Association last fall. Dr. Steele has also been busy actively representing InfantSEE® at several meetings, including the American Public Health Association and the Association of Maternal and Child Health Program. He also served on this year’s SECO CE Committee and participated in the coordination of the program as part of a team.

Marc B. Taub, OD, Assistant Professor, was the guest editor of the recent Traumatic Brain Injury issue of Optometry and Vision Development, the journal of the COVD. Daniel Taylor, OD ’06, MS, Instructor, helped secure a $5,000 grant from the Medical Education and Research Institute (MERI) in support of anatomical education.

James E. Venable, OD ’89, Assistant Professor, was presented with a certificate of merit from the Optometric Extension Program at the recent conclusion of his year on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Behavioral Vision Care.

SECO Atlanta, March 2009 Posters

Janette Dumas, OD, Assistant Professor, Christina Vranich ’09, BA Hyperopia Associated with a Head Tilt Scott Ensor, OD ’01, Assistant Professor Monitor RPE Detachment Closely for Development of Choroidal Neovascular Membrane Sharon Lee, OD, Instructor Doc, Can You Get This Gunk out of My Eye? Zakiya Nicks, OD, Instructor; Kristin Anderson, OD, Associate Professor; Jim Williamson OD ’97, Assistant Professor Ocular Complications of Hypertension

Jennifer Sanderson, OD, Instructor When is High Too High?

Janna Smith, OD ’00, Assistant Professor Choroidal Neovascularization Secondary to Presumed Ocular Histoplasmosis Syndrome Optociliary Shunt Vessels: Etiological Considerations Daniel Taylor, OD ’06, MS, Instructor Persistent Hyperplastic Primary Vitreous: A Review of the Literature

Lectures/Panels Christopher Lievens, OD, MS, Associate Professor, Melissa Reading, Esq., JD Nuts and Bolts, Part 1

SCO Welcomes New Board Members Sharon Moscow Berger, OD ’80, and Steven T. Reed, OD ’95, recently were named to SCO’s Board of Trustees for six-year terms.

Since her graduation in 1980, Dr. Sharon Moscow Berger has served the profession and her patients in private practice at Roswell Eye Clinic in Roswell, Georgia.

She has been actively involved in organized optometry, including service as Chairperson for Children’s Vision for the Georgia Optometric Association (GOA) and as a volunteer and Chairperson for InfantSEE®.

A Fellow of the College of Optometrists in Vision Development (COVD), Dr. Berger served 15 years as the COVD’s State Director in Georgia.

She also is a member of the American Optometric Association, Optometric Extension Program, and the Neuro-Optometric Rehabilitation Association.

At the community level, she is active as a volunteer with the Lions Club, delivering food through the Second Helpings program at Temple Sinai, and with the Roswell High School Softball team, where her daughter has played for three years.

“I am ready to help prepare future generations to not only continue the work I love, but to bring optometry to even a higher level of accomplishments for future generations,” she says.

A 1995 SCO graduate, Dr. Steven T. Reed has spent the last 14 years in private practice in Magee, Mississippi.

Active in organized optometry, he is a past president of the Mississippi Optometric Association (MOA) and a past chair of his state’s legislative committee. He also has served as president of the Southwest Central Society and on the board of the MOA. Within the American Optometric Association, he has served as a delegate to the AOA Congress House of Delegates since 2003, as AOA Keyperson Coordinator, a delegate to Optometry 2020, and on the President’s Council Coordination Committee.

A past president and current member of the Magee Lion’s Club, he is a past president and current member of the Magee Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Simpson County Economic Development Foundation, and in leadership roles in his church and for the Boy Scouts of America.

“Optometry is a dynamic profession that is molded by our involvement and commitment,” he says. “This attitude of service begins in optometry school.”

As an SCO Board member, he hopes to develop policies that would give students a better understanding of their role in the optometric profession now and in the future.

Venable, Lievens Selected to Lead The Eye Center After a nationwide search, James Venable, OD ’89, Assistant Professor, has been selected as SCO’s new Executive Director for Clinical Programs, effective July 1.

Dr. Venable will succeed James Burke, OD ’77, Vice President for Clinical Programs. Dr. Burke will retire from the position and remain on the faculty part-time.

“Dr. Venable brings years of experience in private practice, co-management centers and has been actively involved in organized optometry throughout his years of service,” said SCO President Richard W. Phillips, OD ’78.

“As he has served for five years as Chief of Staff at The Eye Center, the transition should be a smooth one.”

After his graduation from SCO, Dr. Venable received intern training at the James H. Quillen College of Medicine and the VA Hospital and the Chattanooga Vision and Perception Center.

He has served as Director of Special Services, Director of Referral Services and Clinical Director for group private practices and referral centers while concentrating his clinical practice in pediatrics and binocular vision, laser vision correction and glaucoma.

Prior to joining the SCO faculty in 2004, he previously served as Regional Vice President of Operations at Eye Health Partners of Middle Tennessee, Inc. He is a Fellow of the College of Optometrists in Vision Development (COVD), a past president of the Tennessee Optometric Association (TOA), the Chair of the AOA Pediatrics and Binocular Vision Committee, and he has served on the National Speakers Bureau for Allergan Pharmaceuticals, Inc. In 2005, he was named the TOA’s OD of the Year.

Dr. Phillips praised Dr. Burke for his 30 years of service to SCO and said the college is indebted to him for his leadership of The Eye Center, where his accomplishments include increasing the number of patients seen, expanding income and offering an increasing amount of diverse services.

Meanwhile, Chris Lievens, OD, MS, Associate Professor, was named Interim Chief of Staff, effective July 1, when Dr. Venable leaves the position. He will retain his duties as Chief of Adult Primary Care through the transition.

“Drs. Venable and Lievens should be an outstanding leadership team, and I look forward to working closely with them to evolve our Clinical Programs even more, especially as we continue to develop and finalize our Strategic Plan,” Dr. Phillips added.

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news briefs Class of 2009 Earns 100% Congratulations to the students in SCO’s Class of 2009 for their 100 percent passage rate on Part II of their NBEO exams.

“We want to commend the class for this accomplishment,” said President Richard W. Phillips, OD ’78. “I join Dr. Lewis Reich, Vice President for Academic Affairs, in expressing congratulations and appreciation to the faculty who have provided the leadership through their instruction and mentoring that would contribute to such an outstanding result. We have reason to celebrate together.”

SCO Launches Online Alumni Directory SCO recently launched its new online Alumni Directory. While the college has traditionally assisted in the production of a printed alumni directory in book form every five years, the new online version is a perfect supplement for timely updates about your practice status, additions to your family, or the opportunity to connect with your classmates by providing up-todate information.

Registration is an easy process, and there is no charge to use the service. Membership is restricted to SCO alumni, and your information will be not be sold or used for outside marketing purposes.

Alumni who register for the Alumni Directory may also register for a new email address especially created for SCO’s alumni via Microsoft Hosted Services. This web-based email account works through Outlook Web Access and includes a number of exciting new features, including 25GB of storage, social networking and other capabilities.

Existing email accounts will continue to function during this migration to the new service, and the new email address is optional. After registering, users will receive more

Members of COVD’s International Examination and Certification Board lectured and dined with students from SCO’s COVD chapter.

SCO Hosts COVD Committee The college recently hosted a select committee of the International Examination and Certification Board (IECB) of the COVD. The committee worked on writing a new multiple-choice written examination as a component of the COVD Fellowship Process.

Visitors included Leonard Press, OD, Celia Hinrichs, OD (chair of the IECB) and from the SCO faculty, David Damari, OD, chair of the committee, and W.C. Maples, OD ’68. In addition, Dr. Rochelle Mozlin, a professor at SUNY College of Optometry, participated in the meeting in preparation for SUNY’s use of that examination as a new part of the certification process for their residents in Vision Therapy/Rehabilitation.

Foster to Receive Honorary Degree George Foster, OD, recently retired Dean of the Northeastern State University Oklahoma College of Optometry, will receive the Doctor of Ocular Science (DOS) degree

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information about this joint collaboration between Institutional Advancement and SCO’s Information Services teams. To register, please visit www.sco.edu/alumni and click on the “Alumni Directory” link.

Registering for an email is an excellent opportunity to join nearly 4,000 other alumni who are already receiving monthly e-newsletters from SCO between issues of VISIONS. You may request to receive these email newsletters by emailing alumni@sco.edu.

during SCO’s 2009 Commencement ceremony, to be held Friday, May 1 in Memphis.

He will also deliver the Commencement address.

Dr. Foster served 11 years as Dean of NSUOCO and 29 years in private practice in Bristow, Oklahoma. His long service to the profession included serving on the Oklahoma State Board of Examiners in Optometry and the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education. He was named the AOA’s Optometrist of the Year in 1989 and Optometric Management named him as one

of the Top 10 ODs of the Decade in 1999.

SCO President Richard W. Phillips, OD ’78, and W.C. Maples, OD ’68, Professor — a former long-time NSUOCO faculty member — represented SCO at Dr. Foster’s recent retirement ceremony in Oklahoma.

AMO Donates Equipment to The Eye Center Advanced Medical Optics, Inc. (AMO) recently donated its WaveScan WaveFront System for use in The Eye Center at SCO.

The Wavescan system leads the industry for acquiring outstanding wavefront data. The equipment will be useful in giving students clinical exposure to measuring aberrations, said Jim Burke, OD ’77, Vice President for Clinical Programs, following installation of the equipment, valued at $80,000.

Marco Provides Refraction System Marco recently installed its Total Refraction System (TRS) in The Eye Center at SCO to demonstrate the equipment’s cutting edge technology. The TRS assists ODs in determining prescriptions by digitally combining data from various optical instruments and then electronically recording the information to provide automation of data collection. Demonstrating the equipment are Robert Kalapp, Director of Professional Relations, and Chris Armond, a regional Area Manager for Marco.

to Support Career Counseling SCO recently received a grant from Vision Service Plan (VSP) in support of a new career counseling initiative at the college.

The Offices of Institutional Advancement and Student Services are collaborating to encourage career counseling as part of the student’s academic career earlier in his or her student experience. The program emphasizes career exploration and planning.

Individual and small group sessions have started the process.

Dr. Phillips Speaks to Students about Private Practice President Phillips recently addressed an evening meeting of SCO’s Optometric Private Practice Club (OPP) about his personal experiences in optometry and his advice for students interested in private practice.

He recalled first-hand the challenges and opportunities he faced as a new OD and outlined different practice opportunities he embraced, including the Air Force National Guard, the first OD/ophthalmologist partnership in Tennessee, and his experience directing Refractive Surgical centers. Dr. Phillips encouraged his audience to begin early investigating career alternatives and opportunities to better enable them to be successful in practicing optometry.

Optometry Ranks Among Best Careers U.S. News & World Report ranked optometry among the 30 best careers for 2009. The magazine noted that an aging baby boomer population will only increase the need for vision care, making job prospects strong for ODs. The publication also cited a high career satisfaction rate and the fact that because the profession is so appealing, prospective students must be superior students to land a spot in optometry school.

’79 Grad Visits with Georgia Students Jerry Prchal, OD ’79, a past president of the Georgia Optometric Association, visited with SCO’s Georgia Students during their first meeting of 2009.

SCO Library Installs Computers Several new computers were recently installed in SCO’s library to assist students for research, assignment purposes or at times when computers are not available in the college’s Learning Resource Center. SCO’s library also recently joined a “green weeding” program to handle old books no longer needed. These books are first offered to library users; leftovers are then processed by a “green” company that returns a percentage of books sold to the library and donates a portion of proceeds to charity.

International Visitors Tour Campus SCO recently hosted three representatives of international optometry who visited SECO and then traveled to Memphis to tour the SCO campus and learn more about American optometry.

During their visit, (left to right) Scotland’s Mhairi Day, Colombia’s Maria Mantilla, and Wales’ Nick Sheen met with President Phillips and others from SCO’s administration. The group toured campus, dined with students and faculty, attended classes and followed patients through clinic rotations as part of their tour. The group also toured Memphis to give them a feel for the region.

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AOA 2009 Make plans to attend SCO’s Alumni Reception this summer when the AOA Congress convenes in Washington D.C. June 24-28, 2009.

This year’s meeting will be held at Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center.

The Alumni Reception will be held from 6-7:30 p.m. on Friday, June 26. If you have not already registered your email address by contacting alumni@sco.edu, please sign up to receive updates.

Additional information will be added to alumni pages on the SCO website.

Out and About SCO is committed to interacting with its alumni. We hope to see many of you at:

June 4-7 Utah Optometric Association (Midway, UT)

June 24-28 American Optometric Association (Washington, DC)

October 1-4 SCO Homecoming, Reunion and Continuing Education Weekend (Memphis, TN)