ASCO’s Board of Directors recently announced that ASCO’s fall meetings will be held virtually in light of the increasing spread of COVID-19 due to the Delta variant. ASCO’s fall meetings are normally held in concert with the American Academy of Optometry’s annual conference, which is scheduled for November 3-6, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts.

Creating cultural competency is essential on college campuses, in our communities and in the workplace. ASCO’s Diversity and Cultural Competency Committee (DCCC) recently posted an updated version of their online resource, Case Studies in Cultural Competency.

On September 16, ASCO staff and University of Alabama-Birmingham School of Optometry (UABSO) faculty highlighted the career of optometry as part of the Summer Health Professions Education Program (SHPEP) year round webinar series.

Friday, October 15, 2021
2 – 3:30 p.m. ET

ASCO is now accepting applications to its ninth biennial Summer Institute for Faculty Development (SIFD), a program that promotes increased retention of faculty in the schools and colleges of optometry. The deadline for applications has been extended to October 28. 

Special interest groups (SIGs) have been an important part of ASCO for many years. SIGs are volunteer-driven communities of interest for faculty and administrators focused on a specific area of knowledge or learning.

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2021 Dr. Marvin R. Poston Leadership Awards Winners Announced

UAB School of Optometry alumnus Walter Jackson, OD, has been named National Optometric Association (NOA) Student of the Year. The Class of 2021 graduate – who also currently serves as the national president of the National Optometric Student Association (NOSA) – has also received the Dr. Marvin R. Poston Leadership Award.

Antonio Martinez Barrera considers the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO) at Salus University the perfect place to continue his dream of becoming a licensed optometrist in the United States. But as dreams go though, his has had a high degree of difficulty up until this point.

Each year, VSP Global® selects a Kentucky College of Optometry (KYCO) student to receive its $5,000 Vision of Hope Scholarship. The scholarship is awarded to an excelling first-year student who intends to practice in rural Appalachia. 

Liandra Jung, OD, is this year’s recipient of the Bert C. and Lydia M. Corwin Contact Lens Residency Award. Dr. Jung is a primary care and contact lens resident at the University of California, Berkeley School of Optometry.

Back-to-school took a special meaning this year as students from Université de Montréal School of Optometry (EOUM) were allowed to head back to the campus. Though several measures will be enforced at least throughout the fall semester, the gradual return will give students the chance to break the isolation and have the energy they need to complete their education.

Within a year after graduating from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO), David Meltzer, OD ‘02, FAAO, found himself in Iraq as part of the First Armored Division, embedded with the 47th Forward Support Battalion stationed at the Baghdad Airport during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

It’s been nine years since a clinic dedicated solely for dry eye was inaugurated at the University of Montreal, School of Optometry (EOUM): A North American first!

Salus University’s annual White Coat ceremony, which capped off Orientation Week at the University, had a bit of a twist this year. Because there was no face-to-face ceremony last year due to COVID-19 protocols, this year’s event featured five separate White Coat ceremonies over the two-day period of Aug. 19-20.

RSVP for events to Dina Beaumont at 202-407-8325 or dinabeau@aol.com