Rainy Philadelphia: Week of May 5th

Students, Faculty, Residents, Staff, Alumni, Board members and Friends,

Greetings from a rainy Philadelphia!  We just got back from our whirlwind trip to Bangkok and Singapore earlier this week where we participated in both an international optometric meeting in Thailand and celebrated the graduation of 14 Master of Science in Clinical Optometry professionals in Singapore.  It was fantastic to officiate over the ceremony along with Dr. Melissa Vitek. It was also great to enjoy the camaraderie of many of our Singapore alumni - of which we have over 100! The great trip was a wonderful way to recognize the accomplishments of many of our international Salus colleagues.

On the home front, our Clinical Procedures Lab is almost complete - furniture and audio-visual equipment are being installed with the optometric equipment coming soon. Along the same lines, the primary care clinical facility housed at The Eye Institute (TEI) is complete with the plan to start seeing patients in a few weeks. It was an amazing transformation of TEI’s old clinical modules into a modern primary care facility. You’ll also notice the outside of the building is finally complete to include a new entrance vestibule and updated signage clearly making everyone aware TEI is a clinical facility of Salus.  

This week we also completed our second Board of Trustees orientation and training session. Mr. Jerry Kline and Dr. Adrienne Rogers were welcomed to the Board whereas Ms. Michelle Palos-Samsi and Ms. Terri Albertson joined our Board committees. It’s always great to have Board members on campus to keep them updated on what’s going on both on and off campus. We greatly appreciate their time and energy and know they’ll help build on the legacy we’ve created while also moving us forward.

On Sunday, we will be hosting the annual Joseph C. Toland Excellence in Education program on campus followed by a tribute to Dr. Toland from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in the Hafter Student Center. We hope to fill the room – please join us!

As we enter May, it’s the perfect time to start to think about commencement, which is later this month. We’re excited about our guest speaker and honorary degree recipient, Dr. David Nash. As the director of the Thomas Jefferson University School of Population Health, I’m sure given all of the recent discussions surrounding healthcare, Dr. Nash’s comments will be very timely.

Here’s wishing everyone a safe and restful weekend.

Mike