Previous Front Page News

	Gov. Nixon greets Dean Larry Davis after introducing the Caring for Missourians initiative in a press conference at the UMSL College of Optometry. (October 14, 2009) Governor Nixon is an enthusiastic champion of "Caring for Missourians" which will help to train at least 471 future health professionals at four-year institutions throughout Missouri including an additional 16 optometrists and 31 nurses at the University of Missouri St Louis over the next four years. The portion allocated to the College of Optometry will help pay for scholarships, new technology in labs and clinics and more faculty teaching time.
	Guoqiang Li, Ph.D. has received a $400,000 grant from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering of the National Institutes of Health for a project in biomedical optical imaging incorporating active optics. Guoqiang Li, Ph.D. has also received a $240,000 grant from the Coulter Foundation to study vision correction. Congratulations!
	Forty-four OD degrees and one PhD were conferred during the commencement ceremony held on May 16, 2009 in the Touhill Performing Arts Center on the campus of the University of Missouri-St. Louis.Chancellor Thomas George, assisted by Dean Larry Davis, conferred the degrees. The commencement address was delivered by Mr. David Ekin, President and Chief Executive Officer of the St. Louis Society for the Blind and Visually Impaired.
	The Class of 2011 White Coat ceremony was held on May 14, 2009. The White Coat Ceremony is the culmination of the first half of professional education and marks the transition from classroom to exam room for optometric students. This ceremony confers on new clinicians the responsibility and rights of their new positions. Congratulations!
Dr. Stuart Richer with registered dietician Elizabeth Somer during a satellite media tour which included NBC’s TODAY SHOW. (Photo courtesy of the AOA News).	The College of Optometry’s 2nd Nutrition & the Eye Symposium was hailed as a success by the nearly 100 optometrists in attendance at the March 22 program. Coordinated by Stuart Richer, O.D., Ph.D., the program featured keynote presenter Loren Cordain, Ph.D., whose research includes the relationship of paleo diets to modern health and disease. Other presenters included Jeffry Gerson, O.D., the College’s own Carl Bassi, Ph.D., and Jeffrey Anshel, O.D., President of the Optometric Nutrition Society, who discussed the importance of nutrition in primary eye care practice.
Harlan B. Hodge, MSW (left), Eric Harris, second year student, President of NOSA (right)	The National Optometric Student Association (NOSA) sponsored a presentation entitled "Seeing People." Social worker, video producer, and life coach, Harlan Hodge delivered a powerful message to the UMSL College of Optometry. His presentation allowed future optometrists to grasp the essence of seeing a person in the examination room versus an ID number, diagnosis or generic tag. "Seeing People" ultimately helped UMSL optometry students to realize that success in eyecare does not rely on the number of diseases we treat, but the number of positive connections we make with our patients and our local communities.
	Lt. Kyle Dohm, O.D. ('06) -- as reported in the latest EyeWire -- was recently selected for the aerospace optometry program. He is one of only 21 individuals to be provided with this opportunity since the inception of this program in 1989. He is currently in Florida for a six month training program in which he is the only optometrist among a class of physician flight surgeon candidates. He is shown here in front of “his first T-34 bird” pre-flight. Lt. Dohm is very excited about this opportunity, “My follow-on-tour will be at the Naval Air Facility in Atsugi, Japan for three years.”
	Eric Harris ('11) performs a depth perception test on a visiting high school student. Seven Normandy High School seniors had the opportunity to spend time at the College of Optometry getting direct hands-on experience to find out more about the profession of Optometry as a future career. The National Optometric Student Association (NOSA) introduces high school students to Optometry —particularly minority students who may have limited knowledge and exposure to optometry—through workshops, pre-collegiate studies or private practice experience.
	Fechner Day-2008, under the coordination of Carl Bassi, Director of Research and Graduate Studies, was held October 17th at the Millennium Student Center. The invited speaker this year was Cynthia Owsley, MSPH, PhD on the topic of "Psychophysics: What it reveals about older driver safety and performance." Dr. Owsley is the Nathan E. Miles Chair of Ophthalmology and Vice Chair for Clinical Research at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
	Tom Sullivan, blind since birth, spoke at UMSL to recount his lifelong journey of turning negatives into positives, disadvantage into advantage. An inspiring speaker, Tom lives life to its fullest as an athlete, singer, actor, author, writer, producer. His interests, insights, wisdom and passion for excellence, have motivated audiences all over the world. Along with Helen Keller, Tom is the only recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from The American Foundation for the Blind.
	The Pupil Project, a collaboration between the College of Optometry and College of Education at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, was the subject of a feature in the August issue of St. Louis Magazine. The article focuses on how the project uses vision therapy and tutoring to help visually and academically struggling children improve in school. (PDF version)
	Students from Beaumont High School were the first to participate in a new Optometry Orientation Day program presented by College of Optometry members of the National Optometric Student Association (NOSA). The program combined a power point presentation with hands-on exposure to optometric equipment and tests. Optometry students pictured above left to right: Richard Schlievert, Fanny Coleman (NOSA), Jeffery Harter (NOSA), Katrina Washington (NOSA), Jennifer Einhorn, Kimberly Mark (NOSA) and Dr. Alex Harris (Director of Externship Programs). More photos
	Dr. Thomas Landgraf the newest faculty member of the College of Optometry was one of the speakers at the Age-Related Macular Degeneration continuing education course held on March 9, 2008. Dr. Landgraf is a nationally recognized lecturer on Treatment and Management of Ocular Disease and Injections. The ARMD course featured topics: optometric management of the ARMD patient, contemporary care of the ARMD patient and current concepts of ARMD pathophysiology. Additional Optometry faculty members who lectured at the course were Drs. Bassi, Crane and Jarka.
	Dr. Gordon Legge was the featured speaker for our 6th Annual Fechner Day at the College of Optometry. Dr. Legge is the Distinguished McKnight University Professor and chair of the Department of Psychology at the University of Minnesota, and head of the Minnesota Laboratory for Low-Vision Research. Dr. Legge spoke about his research on low vision and reading to an overflowing crowd of students, faculty and guests from the campus and community. The lecture was followed with our now traditional "Fechnerian" German chocolate cake.
	Second year optometry student, Michael McFarland has earned the 2007 Norman E. Wallis Award for Excellence presented by the National Board of Examiners in Optometry (NBEO). Michael received the highest score nationally on Part I (Basic Science). Learn More
	Dr. Timothy A. Wingert, Associate Professor of Optometry was recently honored as the 2007 recipient of the Missouri Optometric Association's Optometrist of the Year Award at their annual convention held at the Ritz-Carlton in Clayton. Dr. Wingert has been a member of the faculty since 1988.
	The UMSL College of Optometry was selected to receive the 2007 Community Champion Award in the “Health Care Organizations” category. The award is presented by the Institute for Family Medicine and recognizes “individuals and organizations not in the limelight, but making significant and unselfish contributions to community health, especially for those who are less fortunate.” Pictured left to right: Dr. Linda Marks, Dr. John Crane, UM-St. Louis Provost Dr. Glen Cope, Dean Larry J. Davis, Dr. Ray Myers, Dr. Kathleen Boland.
	Dr Kyle Brost '87 receives the 2006 Optometrist of the Year Award presented by the Missouri Optometric Association.
	Forty-five students received their OD degrees and one doctoral degree was conferred during the commencement ceremony held on May 12, 2007 in the beautiful Touhill Performing Arts Center on the University of Missouri-St. Louis campus.Chancellor Thomas George, assisted by Dean Larry Davis, conferred the degrees.The new Doctors of Optometry then listened to the commencement address delivered by Dr. Jerry Christensen, Professor and Founding Dean, University of Missouri - St. Louis College of Optometry. Dr. Christensen spoke about two challenges to professional ethics in the 21st Century—the drive to lower the costs of health care, and the increasing absence of absolute values in our postmodern, relativistic culture. Awards were presented to a number of students, with Natasha Jenkins receiving the Dean's award for outstanding academic performance. A reception followed along with a visual presentation of class memories.
	The Class of 2009 White Coat ceremony was held on May 10, 2007. The White Coat Ceremony is the culmination of the first half of professional education and marks the transition from classroom to exam room for optometric students. This ceremony confers on new clinicians the responsibility and rights of their new positions.
	Dr Anne Ream '84 is recognized by Dean Larry Davis for her outstanding service as a member of the UM-System Board of Curators during a ceremony held on Thursday March 1st, 2007.
	Lee Ann Barrett, OD ’85, was presented with the 2006 Heart of America Contact Lens Society’s Optometrist of the Year award at the awards luncheon at the HOACLS annual congress. Barrett received the UM-St. Louis Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1999.She has been involved in leadership roles for optometry on the state, regional and national levels. In 2000, she was elected Missouri Optometric Association President and served on various MOA committees from 1994 to the present. In2002, she was named the OD of the Year by the MOA. She was President of the North Central States Optometric Council in 2003. Barrett has been a member of various AOA Committees from 2002 to the present and is currently campaigning to be elected AOA Trustee in June,2006. Congratulations, Lee Ann!
	A scene from the 2007 Mini-Super Bowl held on February 2, 2007. Pictured from L to R are Anne Lakamp, Kevin Biermann, Vandana Rajaram and Michael McFarland. Vandana was the overall best and represented UMSL at the AOSA Super Bowl last summer in Boston.