Note: The following remarks were delivered by President Phillips at the opening session of SCO’s State Day 2012 event. State Day brings state association and national optometry leaders to campus to interact with students and answer their questions about organized optometry and the profession.

I’d like to commend Sam Johnson, SGA President, and the AOSA for the work you’ve done in organizing this Fourth Annual State Day event.

Since we began this program, a couple of other colleges of optometry have instituted similar programs.  I have been asked if that upset me.  Absolutely not.  When SCO’s mission became to “lead the profession”, we meant it.  This event is important, and I hope that ALL other colleges of optometry follow our lead.

I know young people hear a lot from previous generations about how it was for the rest of us “back in the day,” but let me assure you, many of us who have been in the profession for some time are continually impressed by the energy and vision that we see in today’s optometry students.

We travel to the states to update them about optometric education, to meet with our alumni and try to answer the questions that they have.  The states seem to appreciate our efforts…and today, I thank the states for coming here to meet with their future members, to update us about their issues and to answer the questions that we have.

Part of our Mission is to foster a personal commitment to service.  That service is within the community, and within our profession.  I am pleased to see more students active at the national and state level. The fact that so many of you are here today reinforces the reality that ODs must be involved if we are to succeed within the 21st century healthcare arena. The representatives with us today are at the ground level where it counts in terms of organization. As a former state association president, I cannot emphasize enough to you students the importance of being involved at the state level.  As President of this college, I promise the states that our support of you, our involvement with you and our advocacy for you will continue.

The same is true for national optometry, and I’m pleased that Dr. David Cockrill, member of the SCO Alumni Council and Secretary-Treasurer of the AOA joined us.  Stacey Liles from the St. Louis office will join us this afternoon.  The AOA is THE national advocate for our profession, and Stacey can assist you no matter which state interests you.

The college is beginning a Quality Enhancement Plan for the entire campus, and this plan embraces service learning…service to the community, service to the profession.  Although it is technically a five year plan, we know that this approach will be ongoing.

Whether you are a student, an alumnus or a state association representative, I hope that each of you find something meaningful from today’s dialogue and interaction when you network here and at the State Association Fair in the Activity Center.  We can never forget:  our profession will only be as strong as we will it to be.

SCO’s Board of Trustees and I wish to convey to our students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends our gratitude for your commitment to SCO. We are proud to pass along the best wishes of the season.

“Peace on earth” begins with the peace we have with one another. Let us each wish that hope, peace and contentment be a part of the lives of our colleagues and their families.

On behalf of the Board of Trustees at Southern College of Optometry, thanks for all that you do to support our institution and the profession.

We hope you enjoy this short video below highlighting some of the ways that the SCO family spent 2011 serving others. We look forward to continuing serving others in the New Year!

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October’s meeting of the American Academy of Optometry was a remarkable week in Boston for Southern College of Optometry attendees.  I heard from many in academia, industry and in private practice complimenting the college on the quality of its programs, its faculty and its students.

Comments from supervisors/preceptors on the superior quality of our students perhaps was the best news for the week; however, there were individual honors that also honors the college!

1.    Dr. Glen Steele received the Feinbloom Award for his conceptualization and subsequent leadership effort with InfantSEE.

2.   Truc Ly Nguyen, ’12, pictured, received a Zeiss Fellowship Award, and represented the college student community well. Another student, Ellen Elmore ‘13, received the Antoinette Molinari Scholarship for 2011 from American Optometric Foundation. Congratulations to them both.

3.    And we have two new Academy Fellows from our faculty:  Drs. Lindsay Elkins and Chris Lievens.

We also saw several alumni/former residents receiving fellowship in the Academy.  We have recognized in recent years that we have not been as active in the Academy as we might have been…it is great to see us reversing that trend.

Join me in congratulating these individuals, and take a moment to congratulate ourselves on our progress.  We have every reason to be proud, which also directs us to be vigilant in maintaining the upward momentum.

Following are excerpts from remarks delivered by President Phillips to the Class of 2015 as SCO welcomed them to the start of their first day of orientation on Thursday, August 25, 2011.

It is a distinct pleasure for me to welcome you, the Class of 2015, to Southern College of Optometry. I look forward to spending the next four years with all of you at this institution…and to sharing a profession with you for many years to come.

This is a big step.  For some time, each of you has been developing the dream of practicing optometry, and becoming a respected member of the Health Care Consortium. Now, you are here…beginning a four-year process that transforms you from an entering first-year student to a practicing optometric physician. I want to share with you a few comments relative to where you find yourself, and the necessary steps to fulfilling your dreams.

I will go through the Mission Statement of the college in a moment, but to sum it up, students are the primary stakeholder at this college. The Board is committed to providing the best faculty, best technology, best learning environment while keeping costs as low as possible in order to minimize the amount of indebtedness you have when you leave this place. One way to keep indebtedness down is to provide as many scholarships as possible.

I know that this is a very overwhelming time for you. In many ways, if it is NOT, then you aren’t paying attention. We want this time to be a time of learning about your surroundings and make you feel at home. I cannot stress enough the importance of this adjustment. During this first couple of weeks, social activities are at their peak. We are proud of our student organizations…they are all clearly a part of your professional development. As your professional skills develop, so should your leadership development…you will all be presented leadership opportunities in your respective communities in which you will practice. Take advantage of this two week period…but don’t get TOO carried away. Remember you have nearly four years to experience all Memphis has to offer.

From the Vice President of Academic Affairs, to the financial aid office, to an optometric technician in The Eye Center, to each of our security guards…the entire campus shares the mission of leading this profession by educating the best possible health care providers, promoting lifelong learning and fostering a personal commitment to service. We take this mission very seriously.

But as professional adults, YOU are expected to accept the primary responsibility for YOUR development…it is YOUR professional career, after all. Yes, I know this next few days will be a bit overwhelming.  You are in a new school, in a new city, and new environment…and for perhaps the first time, you are keenly aware of the fact that what you learn here will be utilized for the rest of your life, in a way that your education process thus far has only generally prepared you for. And I am NOT here to minimize that significance. The knowledge you gain here, the process of diagnosing and treating ocular disease and visual anomalies will, in part, determine how well you perform on your board scores.

You are here because you have the qualities and the desire necessary to complete the program. But admission does not equal graduation. How well you apply yourself here will ultimately determine IF you will be licensed to practice this profession…but also how well you will serve the patients who come to you for care. They will look to you with trusting eyes, counting on you to safeguard their most precious sense…the gift of sight. And I guarantee that none of your patients will want to think that their optometric physician received a C- in Neurophysiology.

Ladies and gentlemen, practicing optometry is a WONDERFUL privilege but it is also an AWESOME responsibility. If you are diligent, over the next four years, the faculty and staff of Southern College of Optometry will make you the best practitioner that you can be. And though it may seem too early to most of you, you should begin NOW thinking about how and where you will use your skills four years from now.  It is never too early to begin investigating possibilities; reaching out to potential mentors, associates, partners…I have never heard any graduate complain that they began looking TOO early.  There have been several who waited too late.

Are you up to the task?  Well, let me tell you something about the class of 2015. The mean age is 23 (by that, I am using “mean” to be the same thing as the average…). There are 33 states represented, tying last year, which was a record for the school. Tennessee leads the pack with 15 students, followed by Arkansas with 11, North Carolina with 10 and Florida with 9.  We have four students from Canada.

Two schools tied for the undergraduate school with the most representatives:  Brigham Young University and the University of Nebraska with 5 each. The University of Georgia, The University of Illinois, The University of Iowa and The University of Tennessee all had 4 each. 46% are male, 54% are female. There were 865 applicants, and we have accepted 130 for the entering class; all but one has a bachelor’s degrees or higher.

There are 75 with a major in biology.  If you throw in microbiology and cell biology, it accounts for 80 of you.  But, all is not lost; there are students with degrees in  Musical Theatre, Finance, Psychology, Spanish and Political Science.  In fact for that Musical Theatre major, a member of the class of 2014 had a Musical Theatre Performance major, and was with the National touring company of Grease.

The student traveling the farthest is Alanna Khattar from Sidney, Nova Scotia who drove 2,151 miles. Close seconds were Chris White from Folsom, CA (You are for sure going to tour Sun Studios here aren’t you?) and Aaron Neufield from Fremont, CA. By contrast, Pinto Ng came a whopping 13.8 miles from his home in Bartlett.

There are two Andrew David Browns in the class.  One from MO and one from AR.  They are not EVEN related. There are two Zinks and a Zhang in the class, thus quadrupling our enrollment of “Zs” from one to four.

The average GPA is 3.53 which is a new record, and the average OAT is 326.  The highest OAT score by category was in Reading Comprehension.  That’s good…you’re going to need that.  So we know that you have the raw materials…and the ability.  Make it count.  Decide now…it is your time to shine.

You will be challenged.  There will be times when it will be grueling.  There will be times when you will questions yourselves…when it gets tough, dig deeper.  You owe it to yourself, because you have struggled to get here.  You owe it to the patients you will be seeing for the rest of your professional life, because they trust that you learned as much as you could…for them.  And you owe it to the 7 others who wanted to sit in the seat each of you are sitting in right now.

Don’t misunderstand me.  You are in for some wonderful times ahead.  Look around at your classmates…these people will be your friends for life. Yes, you will feel as if you are somewhat competing against one another at times…but when it counts, you will stand up for each other…you will help one another…you will support your classmates when they are struggling …you will kick your classmates’ backside…(figuratively)… when they are slacking.

In a few short weeks, I will shake your hand as you put on your white coat for the first time. And in May 2015, I will be proud to shake your hand once more, and welcome you into this wonderful profession as a colleague.

Sometime in the next few weeks, I would ask you to go to the 11th floor and look at the pictures of the classes that have gone before.  I do that on a regular basis…when things are difficult, or when I feel like celebrating.  Especially pay attention to the pictures on the East Side, along the Finance & Accounting offices.  These are the people who paved the way for us…who fought the battles…who made certain that the profession of optometry evolved to what it is today.

I am reminded of a scene from the movie “Dead Poet Society”, I suggest you see it if you have not. There is a scene in it when the professor, played by Robin Williams, leads his class of young men running through the forest, across campus, through hallways and leads them to the archives of the institution, and challenges them with his considerable intellect. They run into the room, breathless, and confront pictures of those who have gone before them.  The ingenious, innovative and intuitive professor talks to them about those who have gone before…and says something like this:

“They’re not that different from you, are they? Same haircuts.  Full of hormones, just like you.  Invincible, just like you feel. The world is their oyster. They believe they’re destined for great things, just like many of you. Their eyes are full of hope, just like you. Did they wait until it was too late to make from their lives even one iota of what they were capable? Because, you see gentlemen, these boys are now fertilizing daffodils. But if you listen real close, you can hear them whisper their legacy to you. Go on, lean in. Listen, you hear it? – - Carpe – - hear it? – - Carpe, carpe diem, seize the day boys, make your lives extraordinary.”

So I congratulate you on making it this far.  You have NEVER had so much riding on your education as you will for the next four years.  Make the most of it.  Seize the day!  Let us know any time we can be of help to you.  It really is the only reason that we are here.  Enjoy learning the art and science of optometry.  Master it.  Then you can do what you have been dreaming of.

Optometry lost a great man this week with the passing of Don Williamson, OD ‘67. He was a gentle giant who truly worked tirelessly for our profession through the American Optometric Association in third party negotiations. He was one of the most popular optometrists in the state of Florida, where he was a past president of the Florida Optometric Association.

Dr. Williamson was also a Past President of SECO. In fact,  he was president when I first became a SECO trustee. He stayed on for a few years to work with Industry Relations and accomplished much in that regard. His honors were many, including the AOA’s OD of the Year, SECO’s OD of the South, and both the AOA and SECO’s Distinguished Service Awards, among a number of others.

I don’t know of many people, particularly those who have been as active politically and such a strong advocate for access to optometric care, who did not make an enemy somewhere.  I would be hard-pressed to think of anyone with such prominence who never made an enemy.  To be able to accomplish that is truly an indication of greatness.  A pillar among the ranks of optometric physicians has been lost…and I am deeply saddened.

Note: The following remarks were made by Dr. Phillips at this year’s SCO reception for alumni and friends at SECO, shared here for the benefit of all who were unable to attend.

On behalf of the entire SCO family, I would like to welcome you tonight. SECO offers the largest gathering of SCO alumni and friends and it is exciting to provide the opportunity for you to reconnect with classmates and colleagues. We hope you enjoy this evening’s reception.

The slideshow photos demonstrate that there is a lot going on with your alma mater…but the pictures don’t show the whole story. They don’t show you the high level of energy that is possessed by our faculty and staff. They don’t show you the camaraderie and mutual support of faculty, staff and students. They don’t show you what you cannot feel unless you rediscover and reconnect with SCO. Only then can you feel the enhanced sense of pride that is appropriate. You should be proud of where we are, and where we are going. You should be more proud than ever if the top of your optometry degree says Southern College of Optometry.

I told you last year about the Annual Faculty/Staff Campaign. They broke their own record this year. Proof that the faculty and staff have never been more committed to supporting the students in their development. This year, the Annual Faculty/Staff Campaign saw a 92% participation rate that raised $62K for the annual fund. The closer you are to SCO, the more excited you become about our success.

Remember that SCO played a major role in the fact that you are here at SECO, because we never stop learning how to be better doctors. Rediscover SCO…Reconnect with the college that made your being here possible…that made your success possible. SCO graduates are professional and community leaders. You are advocates for the patients you serve. YOU represent the best optometry has to offer. RECONSIDER your relationship with the college and REDISCOVER SCO and all it continues to offer.

Let me ask all faculty, preceptors, staff, alumni council members, board of trustees and students to raise their hands. This is the inner family that truly knows how important SCO’s future is. As you reconnect with your colleagues, talk to them…find out why you should be more proud than ever of your alma mater. Then you will want to take an active role in determining SCO’s future, just as we were had a part in securing yours. Enjoy one another, and BE PROUD!

The following is a message I shared with our on-campus community today. My gratitude is extended to all of you at this holiday season for your support of SCO:

I wanted to just send a note to all members of the SCO family, thanking all of you for what has been an exceptional 2010.  Our quality of students accepted and alumni graduated, the development/maturity that our students are demonstrating to us all, the response of faculty/staff to the initiatives outlined in the Strategic Plan, the confidence demonstrated by our Board of Trustees, the logistical and educational successes of The Eye Center @ SCO and the overall demonstration of willingness to actively pursue our Mission have been simply  tremendous.

This is the time of year that all of us reflect on the past year and count our blessings.  It is difficult to count them, as they have been so numerous.

This does not mean that the year has not given us setbacks, disappointments and heartache.  We are not immune from tragic occurrences.  But through these challenges, I have seen you support one another, comfort one another and demonstrate compassion for one another.  Perhaps this is the highest evidence that we truly are family.

I want you to know that I fully consider it a privilege to serve as your President, and appreciate the cooperative spirit demonstrated throughout 2010.  I hope that each of you are able to spend extra time with loved ones the next two weeks, and have the opportunity to recharge your batteries.  If you are traveling, I wish you safe travels and a wonderful visits.  Let us welcome 2011 with the spirit of renewal and resolution that we will continue to find expanded ways to serve one another as members of the winning team that we truly are.

May the blessings of the season be evident in abundance to you all.   I will see you next year!

Click here to visit our Flickr gallery to view photos from Santa’s visit.

SCO’s official holiday video:

One of our Strategic Plan objectives at SCO is to encourage student involvement in organized optometry sooner, rather than later. I recently spent an evening with Tennessee students (pictured) to provide them with an overview of the legislative process in our state, including the role of the Tennessee Association of Optometric Physicians (TAOP), formerly the Tennessee Optometric Association (TOA).

As a past president of the TOA and SECO International, I discussed the basis of legislative activity at the state level throughout the country. We covered the framework of advocacy and the importance of building relationships with legislators and key decision-makers. Optometry has fared well through grass root efforts at the state levels, and this progress must continue.

I shared with the students that their generation may be better equipped to interact with their colleagues. Today’s younger optometrists have grown up in a world of enhanced communication through email, instant messaging, texting and social media. Technology allows them to network more quickly than ever before.

While we also discussed topics specific to Tennessee optometry, our alumni and educational partners should be heartened by the fact that student involvement in state clubs continues to grow at SCO. We are encouraging our students to become involved in their state associations as soon as possible. We also encourage students to network and interact with their local optometric societies or at their future practice locations.

To our alumni, you can help in this effort, too. When you interact with our students or help us recruit prospective students, be sure to emphasize the importance of involvement in organized optometry. Our progress is tied to motivating new optometrists to continue advancing our profession.

Allow me a point of pride in expressing my enthusiasm for SCO’s Fall Homecoming and CE weekend that was held in early October. It’s always a pleasure to welcome alumni back to campus, but this year’s event was especially enjoyable.

Over the past couple of years, the college has worked to offer our alumni an expanded program of networking opportunities to encourage friendship and goodwill among our graduates. A number of alumni joined us for SCO’s 25th annual Convocation ceremony in which we ceremoniously welcomed our first-year students into the profession.

The generosity of our alumni and educational partners enabled us to present more scholarships and awards than ever before during Convocation, so to our donors, thank you for your support. Our students are also grateful for your partnership in optometric education. Your loyal support makes a vital difference in keeping student debt levels low.

I had the privilege of presenting alumni awards to two distinguished graduates. W.C.  Maples, OD ’68, received SCO’s Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest honor bestowed by the college. Paul Mormon, OD ’01, received the inaugural Young Alumnus Award. Please join me in congratulating both of them for their service to their profession and for serving as role models for future optometrists.

If you didn’t attend this year’s event, ask those who did. I think you’ll be really encouraged to hear just how much fun it is to reconnect with old classmates and friends. From the kickoff party on Thursday night, to the campus barbecue that was attended by nearly 1,000 alumni, students, faculty and staff, there’s something for everyone. I enjoyed meeting alumni at our alumni luncheon and at a fantastic after party following the reunion class dinners.  (I picked the band!)

SCO truly is committed to offering programs that our alumni enjoy. If next year marks a class reunion for you, make plans now to attend our 2011 Homecoming and Fall CE on Sept. 22-25th. You don’t have to wait for your class reunion – we’re always glad to see you. In the meantime, I hope to see many more of you at upcoming state association, regional meetings and at the American Academy of Optometry.

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.