As we start a new academic year, we are excited for the opportunity to educate the future of our profession. We will welcome our newest members of our community, the Class of 2028, and also continue to support the students within our programs. In addition, we continue to support our faculty and staff at our member institutions where we are honored to be a resource and to help create a sense of community within our profession. 

The Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry is thrilled to report its U.S. institutions had the highest number ever of applicants during the 2023-2024 OptomCAS application cycle.

Deadline to submit nominations is January 22, 2025.

 

The Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry is now accepting nominations for the various achievement awards that will be presented at the ASCO Annual Business Meeting in June 2025.  

The ASCO Student Affairs and Admissions Professional Group (SAAs) met in Nashville on June 17-18 before the start of the AOA's Optometry’s Meeting.

ASCO staff were busy in June and July promoting the new Eye Opener Sessions program, in addition to the Optometry Gives Me Life campaign at both the Optometry’s Meeting in Nashville and National Optometric Association in Philadelphia.

ASCO was a proud sponsor of this year’s National Academies of Practice (NAP) Annual Meeting and Forum, which was held March 14-16 in Jacksonville, Florida.

Eric Chan joined ASCO’s team in mid July 2024. Eric is a third year student at the University of Maryland – College Park. He is currently double majoring in finance and operation management and business analytics. Eric entered ASCO as a general intern who will be assisting in multiple projects amongst various departments.

Jannah Said is a pre-optometry student who is excited to join ASCO as the new Communications intern. She is a rising senior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (go Tar Heels!), where she is pursuing her Bachelor of Science in Quantitative Biology and will be graduating this upcoming May.

ASCO’s Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice Committee (IPRF) announces that ASCO’s IPECP Toolkit, A Guide to Effective Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice Experiences in Optometric Education, has been updated and is available as an open-access document at https://optometriceducation.org/news-resources/ipe-toolkit/.

The Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry offers a Career Center resource, hosted by Boxwood.

Celebrating 75 Years

 

 

Reflecting its steadfast commitment to continuous innovation, CooperVision now offers clariti® 1 day multifocal 3 Add contact lenses in the U.S. Several of the company’s advanced technologies are combined in the new lens to provide all-day comfort, ease of fit, and the widest range to meet the needs of more patients.^*2,3

 

Haag-Streit launched its new Imaging Module 910 3D (IM 910 3D), which features a dynamic 3D live-stream, at the American Optometric Association meeting in Nashville in June. The enhanced module comes equipped with a second 4K camera that allows doctors to experience an immersive depth impression, unveiling higher detail, and enabling a richer viewing experience. 

Celebrating Over 53 Years in the Eye Care Industry, NIDEK Proudly Delivers a Wide Range of Diagnostic Equipment that Improves Patient Outcomes and Increases Office Efficiency

 

NIDEK offers a wide array of diagnostic and surgical equipment designed with simplicity, functionality, and reliability to assist you with your patients having anterior and posterior disorders or diseases including glaucoma, AMD, visual function, and other vision-impairing afflictions.

 

The Mirante SLO/OCT is the ultimate multimodal fundus imaging platform that combines high definition SLO and OCT with ultra-wide field imaging. The multimodal platform captures high quality color images, fluorescein angiography (FA), indocyanine green angiography (ICG), fundus autofluorescence (FAF) including Green-FAF and Blue-FAF, unique Retro mode images, and OCT.

After a nationwide search, Northeastern State University (NSU) has selected Dr. Nathan Lighthizer as the Dean for the Northeastern State University Oklahoma College of Optometry (NSUOCO).

After a successful international search, Sharon A. Bentley has been selected to serve as the new Dean of the Herbert Wertheim School of Optometry & Vision Science. Professor Bentley is currently professor of optometry, deputy dean of the Faculty of Health and director of the Centre for Vision and Eye Research at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Brisbane, Australia. She will join the UC Berkeley community on February 3, 2025.

NECO hosted the annual John E. Asarkof Residency Conference. The event celebrated the residency year that runs from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024. This was the last of four conferences throughout the year offered to all NECO Residents. NECO has 18-affiliated residency programs throughout New England that welcome 38 residents each year. These paid programs include advanced training in community-based centers and VAs, as well as other prestigious organizations.

During his career, Salus University president Michael H. Mittelman, OD ‘80, MPH, MBA, FAAO, FACHE, has said he has been lucky enough to be surrounded by some of the giants in aerospace medicine and Navy optometry.

When Paul Freeman, OD ‘74, FAAO, was thinking about his acceptance speech for receiving the 2024 Presidential Medal of Honor from Salus University, he decided he wanted to deliver a message to his daughter, Julia.

The American Academy of Optometry (AAO) Foundation awarded two Vision Science Graduate Program doctoral students at the UAB School of Optometry competitive Ezell fellowships. Sourav Datta received the American Academy of Optometry Centennial Ezell Fellowship. Mahmoud KhalafAllah, MD, MSc, received the Meta Realty Labs Ezell Fellowship, marking his second Ezell win — the maximum possible.

The Chicago College of Optometry (CCO) held its second annual career fair where optometry students had the chance to interact with about 23 sponsors and participants in the field. The students had the chance to learn about various career opportunities, ask questions, and seek additional information. Two guest speakers, Priscilla Pappas, OD, and Darryl Glover, OD, offered a variety of advice and insight for aspiring optometrists. 

Mike Robertson, SCO’s longtime Senior Director of Admissions & Student Services, retired in May after nearly 30 years of collective service to the college. He was honored at the end of the ceremony by Joe Hauser, SCO’s Vice President of Student Services.

On Saturday, April 6, over 75 New England College of Optometry (NECO) alumni from 10 different graduating classes gathered at Beacon Street to commemorate the college’s inaugural reunion event. This was the first in-person reunion since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Amidst warm embraces and a few tears, former classmates reconnected and swapped tales from their unique and shared experiences as NECO students.

 

Dr. Lesser joins Specsavers as the company accelerates its store expansion across Canada to establish itself as the optical retail leader.

Now Accepting Applications: Employer-Sponsored Student Loan Repayment!

 

 

VSP® Ventures, in partnership with UC Berkeley Herbert Wertheim School of Optometry and Vision Science, is proud to announce the winner of the 2024 Dr. Craig Hisaka Memorial Scholarship: Alin Torosian, Optometry Class of 2026.