Elizabeth Dabezies Goodyear and Charles W. Goodyear IV

Elizabeth Dabezies Goodyear is the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Oliver H. Dabezies Jr. of New Orleans. Elizabeth’s father earned his undergraduate degree from Tulane in 1951 and his medical degree in 1954 and completed his residency at Tulane in 1958. He taught in the department of ophthalmology at Tulane University from 1960 until his retirement in 1999. Her mother, Carroll Collins Dabezies attended Newcomb College.

Dr. Dabezies was one of the pioneers in the development and use of contact lenses. Throughout his illustrious career, he held many leadership roles in national organizations. Dr. Dabezies served as a founding member and president of the Contact Lens Association of Ophthalmologists (CLAO), served as its executive vice president for 11 years, and authored its textbook on contact lenses. Through his association with CLAO, he became involved with the American National Standards Institute and chaired the group that formulated standards for contact lens solutions. He also created the International Contact Lens Society of Ophthalmologists. He served on the board and was vice president of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and was secretary of the American Medical Association Ophthalmology section. He was a widely published writer and editor, held four active hospital affiliations, was a member of 11 medical societies, a lecturer at national and international meetings, and maintained a busy practice. Dr. Dabezies helped to establish the Southern Eye Bank, serving on the board for 42 years and was president at the time of his death in 2001. He was the first recipient of the Eye Bank Distinguished Service Award. Dr. Dabezies was President of the Tulane Medical Alumni Association from 1991-1992, received Tulane Medical School’s Distinguished Service Award in 1994, and that same year was named Tulane Alumni Association’s Outstanding Alumnus.

The Goodyears, who have two children, established the Oliver and Carroll Dabezies Endowed Chair at Tulane School of Medicine to honor Elizabeth’s parents. This endowed chair will support the chairperson of the department of ophthalmology and their work in clinical practice, research, professional development, and service.

Estate of John F. Honecker

John F. Honecker graduated from Tulane College of Arts & Sciences with an English degree in 1968. Tulane extended well into the neighborhood during John’s years as an undergraduate. In fact, the New Orleans Saints played their first home football game on September 17, 1967, in front of 80,879 fans in Tulane Stadium. And in 1968, the campus footprint was expanding as well with the opening of the new Howard-Tilton Memorial Library on Newcomb Boulevard. The modern building included four floors of browsable stacks and a student lounge and snack area in the basement. The new building was designed to carry two additional floors, an asset that came into play after Hurricane Katrina struck almost 40 years later.

At the time of his death in October of 2020, John was living in Portland, Oregon. More than 50 years after his graduation, through his intentional planning and generous design, he included Tulane’s School of Liberal Arts in his will ensuring that students of today and tomorrow reap the benefits of a world-class Liberal Arts education.