Dr. Glen Steele Named to TICUA Hall of Fame

Dr. Glen Steele Named to TICUA Hall of Fame

Dr. Glen Steele, the longest-serving faculty member at Southern College of Optometry, was recently inducted into the Tennessee Independent Colleges and Universities Association’s Hall of Fame. Dr. Steele’s induction came alongside 24 alumni from private schools across Tennessee.

The Hall of Fame recognizes outstanding alumni and their contributions to the state, country and world in a variety of disciplines. A 1969 SCO alumnus now in his 52nd year at the college, Steele was honored for his role in advancing pediatric vision care as a co-founder of the InfantSEE program, which, through partnerships with optometrists across the country, has provided more than 140,000 no-cost eye exams to children in their first year of life. Steele is also credited for advancing infant eye exams through his development of the “just look retinoscopy,” a now-common procedure in optometry practices by which doctors gauge visual development in children who otherwise cannot articulate how well they see.

In addition to making a difference in the lives of pediatric patients and mentoring thousands of optometrists, Dr. Steele has also volunteered through the years with numerous programs, including the American Academy for Human Development, the Memphis Association for Children with Learning Disabilities, the American Foundation for Vision Awareness and the Special Olympics, among others.

His leadership roles include serving as president of the College of Optometrists in Vision Development; president of the Optometric Extension Program Foundation; chair of the InfantSEE program; an international ambassador for SECO; member of the World Council of Optometry’s Education Committee; and chair of the Vision Care Section for the American Public Health Association.

Among his notable other awards, Steele was inducted into the AOA’s Optometry Hall of Fame. He received the President’s Award from the AOA and the American Foundation for Vision Awareness; the Optometrist of the Year from the Tennessee Association of Optometric Physicians; the Lifetime of Service Award from Prevent Blindness Tennessee; the William Feinbloom Award from the American Academy of Optometry; the G.N. Getman Award from the College of Optometrists in Vision Development; SCO’s Lifetime Achievement Award; and the Top 10 Optometrists of the Decade distinction by Optometric Management magazine, among many others.