The college was pleased to welcome a great group of alumni and their families to campus recently for our first Alumni/Child Admissions Forum. We received a lot of positive feedback from those who attended. I feel certain that this event made our guests more informed, and more comfortable with our program, and the application process in general.

I was determined to make my children’s lives better than mine was…which was tough, because I have two wonderful parents.  I guess that every generation wants to make things better for the next.  This has been the case with our profession in general, and it certainly has been the case at SCO.  Following are some of the remarks I shared with our guests, and I think all of alumni and friends will take pride in the discussion:

For our parents/grandparents with offspring interested in optometry, it should make you proud that our profession is a stronger one today than it was yesterday.  As alumni, it should make you proud that the college is better today than it was yesterday.  I used to say that it was my job to make our alumni even more proud of SCO tomorrow than you are today.  But that is a responsibility that is shared by all of us…the board of trustees, faculty, staff, students and alumni.

I want to thank our legacy ODs for being a role model for not only your children and grandchildren, but the people within your community, including students who are looking for the best possible career. You are important members of our family, and a key stakeholder in our mission.  Strong role models such as you enable us to demonstrate just how far our graduates can go in our profession.

You may receive the highest award we bestow, the Lifetime Achievement Award, as Dr. Terry Swinger received in 2004.  You may lead your state association in legislative battle to truly allow us to use all aspects of our professional skills and knowledge.  You may even lead the national association that represents our profession to the world, as Dr. Joe Ellis is doing right now.  All of you are leaders and represent our profession well, or these young people wouldn’t have been led to investigate optometry as a career, and to investigate SCO as not only the gateway, but we would hope the catapult…to that career.

To you students…optometry is a dynamic, highly rewarding profession.  I know that your parents have taught you that hard work and preparation will make you competitive in life.  Perhaps they have developed the desire within you, and perhaps they have given you solid counseling and encouragement.  There is absolutely no doubt in my mind…you will have to work harder than they did to gain admission, and if you are fortunate enough to come here, you will have to work harder than they did to complete this program.  The college expects more from its applicants and from its students than it did when we were here.

The more preparation you do now, the better positioned you will be as candidates for admission and as optometry students should you be accepted.  Because of your family exposure, you are already aware that becoming an optometric physician is well worth the struggle.

And it shouldn’t be easy.  Patients come to us, trusting us to take care of their vision, of their most precious sense…the sense of sight. They take it for granted that you did your best to get here…and here at SCO, you did your absolute best, because their eyesight may depend upon it.

I wish you well.  I can honestly say that, as much as I love working with the Southern College of Optometry family, there isn’t a day goes by that I don’t think about the patients I saw over the years…and then their children who became my patients.  The doctor/patient relationship an optometric physician enjoys is one of the most endearing and special relationships enjoyed by ANY profession.  If it were easy, everyone would do it.

We’re proud to have you all here today. The college takes it as a high compliment that you are considering this profession we love, and as long as THIS is what you want to do, and if you are good enough to get here…you might as well attend the best college of optometry in the country.

I wanted to take a moment and thank a number of the SCO family who helped with two Stop Hunger Now events in July.  Together with our partners in Memphis Rotary, we packaged over 70,000 meals for the people of Haiti, who are in dire need. 

I am listing those who participated…I am very proud of the turnout.  Tentatively, we will try to do this same format later in the fall, and again next spring.  Volunteering on the Thursday evening/Saturday morning combination seems to make it possible to participate for the vast majority of our volunteers.

Thanks to SCO’s Physical Plant, and especially Harold Lashlee and to Beth Fisher for their efforts in getting everything set up to maximize our ability to work efficiently once we began.  Special thanks as well to those who came early on Thursday to help unload the truck, and those who stayed Saturday to help clean up the activity center and load the truck. Many of our volunteers brought family members and friends to help as well.  I hope that you found the experience personally rewarding, community building and fun!

From the faculty/staff:

Anderson, Dr. Kristin
Baker, Paula
Caldwell, Winona
Childers, Stacy
Cisarik, Patricia
Coats, Ron
Dasinger, Dr. Michael (Resident)
Davis, Dr. Kelley (Resident)
Dickerson, Eula
Drescher, Dr. Rob
Elkins, Dr. Lindsay
Ervin, Dr. Cheryl
Eubank, Dr. Tressa
Fields, Ann
Fisher, Beth
Fleming, Carol
Garner, Cindy
Gerstner, Dr. Mike
Hauser, Joe
Howell, Dr. Angela (Resident)
Jones, Andrea
Kerr, Dr. Aaron
Lashlee, Harold
Lievens, Dr. Chris
Maxwell, William
Morgan, Sandra
Nicks, Dr. Zakiya
Pearson, Brenda
Phelps, Brenda
Phillips, Dr. Richard
Pike, Guy
Reich, Dr. Lewis
Rixon, Dr. Drew
Savoy, Dr. Rick
Shepard, Kristie
Smith, Joyce
Sparks, Dr. Bernard
Stephens, Sandra
Swick, Dean
Tabachnick, Dr. Sharon
Taylor, Michelle
Venable, Dr. James
Warren, Carolyn
White, Lynn

Students:

Armanious, Mary
Berry, Morgan
Bowles, Haley
Braver, Andrew
Cullinan, Stephanie
David, Neal
Lamb, Savannah
Mikhail, Diana
Perkins, Amy
Pierce, Shira
Rogers, Amanda

The time has come when we welcome you into the ranks of optometric colleagues, of optometric physicians, of colleagues-in-arms. It is my favorite time of year… and for most of you, this week will be one of the foremost memories of your time spent here.

This week is as much about what you have accomplished as a class, as it is about what you have accomplished individually. You have spent four years together. You have forged a special bond with one another that will never be broken. And beyond that special bond, you have cemented the community of Southern College of Optometry through your scholarship, service and leadership.

As you enter practice, you will find that it will continue to be about being there for one another. Just as you have shared the experiences of the past four years, you will share the opportunities and challenges of practicing optometry in the 21st century.

You will find that your friendship will withstand the distance of separation. You will become more aware than ever of that special bond. We have our own vocabulary…we have our own unique way of interacting with one another. You will find that true friends can grow separately without growing apart. As Shakespeare’s Henry V said, “You few…you happy few…you are a band of brothers. That bond you will have for all your days.”

Congratulations to each of you and congratulations to you all…you have been a very special class filled with very special people. You were first-year students when I became the 6th President here. I shall miss most of you a great deal. :)

We celebrate your individual accomplishments…and we celebrate you, as a class, entering this wonderful profession that we love so very much. God Bless You All.

One of the tenets of SCO’s mission is to prepare our students to be capable of practicing full scope optometry. This includes active involvement in the legislative arena in support of our profession. I recently had the privilege of traveling to West Virginia to testify on behalf of optometry regarding proposed legislation that would expand the scope of practice there to include minor surgical and certain specified ophthalmic laser procedures.

You may hear news and ophthalmic press coverage from West Virginia. In essence, I had the opportunity to address the high quality of education and the standards employed by our profession. Specifically, I was able to provide background about SCO, how we’re accredited, and how we have high standards, with an average GPA of 3.5 and a 98% graduation and board passage rate. This year alone, we’ve had more than 800 applicants for 120 seats.

At SCO, we will diligently strive to ensure that the public has the correct information regarding the training optometrists undergo throughout our fully accredited program. Included in our curriculum are courses in anatomy, biochemistry, physical diagnosis, neuroanatomy, human physiology, ocular physiology, pathological sciences, neuro eye disease, anterior segment disease and treatment I and II, posterior segment disease and treatment I and II, 90 hours of pharmacology, advanced ocular disease, glaucoma, ophthalmic lasers, and perioperative management, which involves treating patients before and after medical/surgical procedures.

I also outlined SCO’s commitment to lifelong learning.  At SCO, we train our graduates to be prepared for changing technologies. Optometry knows best how to regulate optometry. Optometrists are accredited, licensed, doctoral level health care providers independently responsible for our patients’ well being. There should be no question in anyone’s mind that optometrists have the background and training to safely, effectively and comprehensively care for our patients.

I just returned from this year’s memorable SECO 2010 meeting in Atlanta. As the old show biz adage says, “The show must go on,” and attendees this year proved that ODs are resilient. Even with snow, we enjoyed great attendance at SCO’s annual reception for alumni and friends.

Thanks to Stan Dickerson, OD ’76, for introducing me that night, and to Martha Rosemore Greenberg, OD ’74, for her gracious introduction at our President’s Reception. My gratitude especially goes to all of you who took the time to attend. It was a privilege to see and interact with you.

As I said in my remarks at both events, it’s more critical than ever for our alumni to rediscover and reconnect with their alma mater. The vitality of optometric education at SCO depends on alumni engagement. Your interest in our programs and initiatives will have a direct bearing on our success.  And it has become more evident to me than ever that the success of our profession and the success of our optometric institutions are interdependent.

As a former SECO president, I would like to also note that it was a privilege to watch the leadership reins pass from one SCO graduate to another as Jonathan Shrewsbury, OD ’81, was succeeded by Ron Bannister, OD ’77, as SECO President. SCO alumni who serve in leadership positions are also role models to our students – the future of optometry.

Last, if you attended the Heart of America Congress in Kansas City, we thank you, too. Dr. Jim Newman from the faculty represented SCO, and he reports that it was also a great meeting. Recognition is also in order for another SCO alumnus, Gary Beaver, OD ’89, who has served this fine organization as president over the last year.

We look forward to seeing you later in the year at your state or regional meeting, as well as the AOA and Academy meetings.

This year’s Martin Luther King Day holiday offered the SCO community an opportunity to serve others in a manner that honored Dr. King’s life and work. A group of more than 30 students, faculty and staff gave up their holiday morning to visit the Memphis Academy of Health Sciences, where several hallways are now covered with a fresh coat of paint.

The work was organized by our Student Government Association in a partnership with Volunteer Midsouth. SGA’s recognition of the need for community involvement has been especially significant given SCO’s recently expanded Mission Statement and Strategic Plan. I am grateful to SGA’s leadership in recognizing the need to “Give a Day” on a day when most simply take a day off. It was a privilege to join this fine group in volunteering our time.

I’m sure many others of you volunteered your time for other causes during this holiday. In 2010, let’s all think about ways we can serve others in making the world a better place.

It was a a real privilege to welcome Kathy Bates to The Eye Center this week on behalf of Southern College of Optometry. She was spending time in her former home of Memphis, speaking on behalf of the Methodist Hospital Foundation and visiting old friends from high school. She was very gracious, and complimentary of our facilities and our care.

I am very pleased that we had the opportunity to meet her, and to show off the best college of optometry in the country. I didn’t tell her that she scared me half to death in Misery, but I absolutely loved her in Fried Green Tomatoes. I didn’t want to sound like a groupie.

Her visit was just one more in a long line of special occasions I am privileged to enjoy as President of SCO.

Earlier this week, I was privileged to return home to East Tennessee for our an “Evening with the President” event. This newly developed program has been designed to host regional meetings that allow me to take news of SCO’s progress directly to alumni in their own back yards.

My appreciation goes to David Mills, OD ’78, and Kurt Steele, OD ’95, for hosting this event, and special thanks goes to all who attended. We enjoyed a great turn-out, and I was pleased to update these alumni on significant areas of progress made in 2009 at SCO.

These alumni gave me the chance to speak candidly about the importance of alumni support to optometric education. I was heartened to hear from several alumni after the event who recognized the need for greater involvement and support of their alma mater.

I look forward to future events in other areas, but it’s always a good time to think about what you can do to support SCO. As 2009 comes to a close, please consider the college in your year-end giving opportunities.

Your support is crucial in these tough economic times, so thanks to our alumni who understand and have met the challenge. The gifts of your time, your ideas, your moral support, and your financial generosity are always appreciated.

SCO will be hosting an Alumni Reception at this week’s meeting of the American Academy of Optometry in Orlando. Please make plans to join us on Friday, November 13 from 7:30-9 p.m. The reception will be held in Grand Ballroom 10 at the Orlando World Center Marriott.

Joining me will be Dr. Kristin K. Anderson, Vice President for Institutional Advancement, and a number of other faculty. We always look forward to meeting and visiting with our alumni, so we hope to see you there.

Our new Strategic Plan includes a call to action in terms of service. SCO’s mission recognizes the importance of serving our profession, our patients and our communities. This week, 30 faculty, staff and student volunteers joined me and other members of the Memphis Rotary Club for a worthwhile volunteer effort held on campus.

Our group worked to aid the effort of Stop Hunger Now.  Establishing an assembly-line system, our volunteers packaged rice, protein, vitamin packs and other dehydrated foods in bags that make up 6 meals/bag. Some of the volunteers added the appropriate ingredients into the bags. Some weighed and sealed the bags. Others packed the finished products in shipping boxes, aided by even more volunteers who sealed and loaded the boxes onto the Stop Hunger Now truck.  Still others acted as runners, filling containers with ingredients and transporting products from one station to the next.

Click on this photo to go to a photo gallery with more images from the event.

This event turned out to be a terrific evening of sharing with others for a common purpose. I originally thought we would finish 10,000 meals. As the evening went on, the final count was 21,800 meals that we packed for hungry people in Haiti. I slept well later that night with this thought in mind.

My thanks go to all who helped make this event a success. We proved that “Service Above Self” is not limited to Rotary International. Thanks also go to Rotary for paying for the supplies and allowing us to participate and host the event. I know many of you are involved in similar volunteer efforts in your community. Take time to let us know about your good work so we can share the message and inspire our students and prospective students. Together, our work makes a meaningful difference in the lives of others who need our help.