Students, Faculty, Residents, Staff, Alumni Board Members and Friends,
Well, it’s another Friday following a really strange week of January weather! At least the rain has stopped for now (and we’re not shoveling snow)! All that said, it’s also been another busy week at Salus.
I spent the better part of last weekend meeting and talking with alumni, to include participating in our semi-annual Salus Alumni Board meeting. During that meeting I was able to bring alumni board members up to speed on many of the great things that have been going on at the University. One event I highlighted was the upcoming centennial celebration, commemorating the 100thanniversary of the Pennsylvania College of Optometry. I reflected upon the storied history of PCO as well as some of the very successful things that have transpired over the last couple of years at the University and, in particular, at PCO. These included a significant improvement in Part 1 of the National Board of Examiners exam to surpass the national average for the first time in 15 years and the fact that we’ve begun a deliberate, strategic downsizing of our entering optometry class from what used to be over 155 students to 140 students, projected for next year’s class. I explained we’ve done this to enable us to continue to pick only the best and brightest students from a decreasing applicant pool. At the board meeting, we also had the pleasure of reviewing each program’s Alumnus of the Year nominees. The recipients will be announced sometime next month. It’s always rewarding, as well as enlightening, for me to talk with our alums from each program as I always learn something that can be applied to what we’re doing.
As part of the Centennial Celebration we will be honoring 24 members of the optometric community who have made significant contributions to PCO and the optometric profession with our Presidential Medal of Honor. This award was originally established in recognition of those alumni and others who made significant contributions to PCO and optometry during our first 75 years. At that time, 76 medals were awarded. To commemorate PCO’s 100th anniversary, we’re adding an additional 24 recipients to round the number off to 100. We’ve also decided to begin a new tradition to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of Salus, so we will be awarding 10 Salus Presidential Medals of Honor to 10 people who have made significant contributions to University and their respective professions over the course of the last 10 years. These awards will be presented on April 26th here on campus. As we look toward the future, we plan on presenting a Presidential Medal each year, thereafter, if there is a qualified recipient.
Our Office of Communications has been working closely with PCO and Institutional Advancement to ensure we are getting as much information about our history out on social media and our website as possible. Check out the latest that discusses The Eye Institute’s evolution over time.
The 3rd year class of the Pennsylvania College of Optometry will be holding their annual Eye Ball event on Thursday, January 31 at 7 p.m. at the Blue Bell Country Club. Tickets are $75.00 per person and formal attire is required.
Yesterday, I had the opportunity to represent Salus at the kick-off event for Invest: Philadelphia in Center City. I was part of a panel discussion addressing higher education in the city and was joined by Mr. Craig Carnaroli, the Executive VP at the University of Pennsylvania and Dr. Guy Generals, President of the Community College of Philadelphia. It was an honor to be part of this and now there over 200 people who were at the meeting who know a great deal more about Salus than they did before they got there!
On January 31, we will be holding a signing ceremony at Rosemont College to celebrate the establishment of five new articulation agreements between Rosemont and Salus. These include Optometry (3+4 and 4+4), Audiology, Occupational Therapy, and Physician Assistant programs.
This Sunday and Monday we’ll be hosting our extremely dedicated Board of Trustees to complete the scenario planning process that we began last summer as well as also hold our quarterly board meeting. It will be a busy, but I’m certain, very productive few days.
Finally, as you can see there is lots of activity surrounding the upcoming celebration of PCO’s 100th anniversary as well as other things going on at the University. It’s an exciting time!
Have a great weekend – be safe and look out for one another. Please ensure you’ve placed April 27th on your calendars to celebrate our Centennial!
Mike
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