50th Commencement Ceremony for SUNY College of Optometry Will Feature Two Honorary Degree Recipients

50th Commencement Ceremony for SUNY College of Optometry
Features Two Honorary Degree Recipients

The State University of New York (SUNY) College of Optometry awarded honorary degrees during the 50th Commencement Ceremony to two distinguished professionals who have made substantial contributions to the advancement of optometry, vision research, and public healthcare: Mr. Richard E. Feinbloom and Dr. Stephen A. Burns. 

The honorary degrees were conferred to both recipients during the College’s commencement ceremony on May 23, after a commencement address by Dr. John B. King, Jr., the 15th Chancellor of the State University of New York. 

Mr. Richard E. Feinbloom, received a Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, is the president of Designs for Vision, headquartered on Long Island, NY, with 73 offices worldwide. The company was founded in 1961 by Mr. Feinbloom’s late father, Dr. William Feinbloom, with a goal of manufacturing optical devices to enhance the vision of patients who had partial or low vision. Specializing in wearable devices that provide enhanced visualization through magnification and illumination, more than 100,000 optical products manufactured by Designs for Vision are helping clinical professionals relieve pain and improve the quality of life for their patients on a daily basis. 

Mr. Feinbloom earned a Business Administration degree at Baruch College and completed the Optical Design program at the Institute of Optics. In addition to being a past president of SUNY Optometry’s affiliated foundation as well as a current board member, Mr. Feinbloom, has served on multiple boards of directors and advisory groups including several related to vision. 

Dr. Stephen A. Burns, received the Doctor of Science, honoris causa, degree in recognition of his contributions to the field of vision science. Dr. Burns has a long, very successful career and is a world-recognized expert in multiple topical areas of vision science. Much of his work over the last several decades contributed to uncovering “the hidden retina” allowing clinicians and scientists to view the living human retina in a way previously not possible, opening the door for diagnoses and treatment. As is evident from his life’s work, Dr. Burn’s breadth of knowledge extends from engineering to electrophysiology and psychophysics. 

Dr. Burns obtained his BS degree in Fundamental Sciences from Lehigh University, followed by a PhD in Biophysics at the Ohio State University, and a three-year postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Chicago. He then served as a faculty member in the Departments of Ophthalmology at the University of Pittsburgh (eight years), Schepens Eye Research Institute at Harvard University (17 years) and is currently a faculty member with the Indiana University School of Optometry at Indiana University’s Bloomington campus since 2005 where he is currently a Distinguished Professor. 

Dr. John B. King, Jr. delivered the 2024 Commencement Address. Dr. King is the 15th Chancellor of the State University of New York, the largest comprehensive system of public higher education in the United States. Prior to his appointment as Chancellor, King served as president of The Education Trust, a national civil rights nonprofit that seeks to identify and close opportunity and achievement gaps for students from preschool through college. 

Chancellor King also served in President Barack Obama’s cabinet as the 10th U.S. Secretary of Education. Before his appointment as Secretary of Education, Chancellor King fulfilled the duties of Deputy Secretary of Education, overseeing all policies and programs related to P-12 education, English learners, special education, and innovation. 

His service in Washington, D.C., followed King’s tenure as New York State’s first African American and first Puerto Rican Education Commissioner. Chancellor King holds a Bachelor of Arts in Government from Harvard University, a J.D. from Yale Law School, as well as both a Master of Arts in the Teaching of Social Studies and a Doctorate in Education from Teachers College at Columbia University. 

The SUNY Board of Trustees votes upon and grants approval for all honorary degree recipients.