SCO's Dr. Glen Steele Inducted into National Optometry Hall of Fame

Southern College of Optometry Professor Glen Steele, was inducted into the National Optometry Hall of Fame by the American Optometric Association (AOA) at its annual conference in St. Louis, Missouri, for his significant contribution to the profession of optometry, specifically his role in creating the InfantSEE program, which provides no-cost eye exams to infants in their first year of life.

Dr. Steele is SCO’s longest-serving faculty member with a half-century of teaching and providing patient care. Upon graduating from SCO in 1969, Dr. Steele was appointed as a faculty member and opened his own private practice that he would run for 40 years. 

In his 50-year career, Steele is most notably recognized for his contributions to pediatric eye care. Since the founding of InfantSEE in 2005, the program has provided eye exams to 140,000 infants, and nearly 4,000 optometrists across the country currently participate in the program. Its successes include countless early interventions for both minor issues, like lazy eye, and major ones, such as ocular cancers or diabetes - all made possible by early detection in an eye exam.

Dr. Steele has authored and presented nearly 30 original papers at the Southeast Optometric Vision Forum on topics ranging from retinoscopy to vision therapy. He also regularly lectures across the world, having led nearly 200 presentations to providers about the importance of infant vision development and care.