Greetings from AAO Conference: Week of October 13th

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

Greetings from Chicago where many of us have been attending the annual meeting of the American Academy of Optometry and Armed Forces Optometric Association. It’s been just a wonderful and PACKED week!

Monday we celebrated commencement for 71 students from Physician Assistant Studies, Audiology, Public Health, Speech-Language Pathology and Clinical Optometry with an Advanced Studies Certificate programs. This was the first time we’ve held our fall commencement exercise at the Kimmel Center and it was fantastic. Our guest speaker and honorary degree recipient, Dr. Rachel Levine, the Physician General of Pennsylvania and Acting Secretary of Health, gave an inspirational and informative talk. As an openly transgender women, she focused her message on transitions and how they impacted her life. She emphasized the importance of diversity and acceptance in all aspects of life. Dr. Levine left the students with some advice for the future telling our graduates, “have big goals for your career and be open to finding yourself not necessarily where you intended to go, but where you were meant to be.” She concluded by saying, “Try to keep your idealism. Life might take you on many different turns and many unexpected paths, but I am confident the education you received here will prepare you for all those roads.”  I think her words would apply to any of us. Dr. Levine clearly left a very positive impression on all of us.

In the College of Education and Rehabilitation, once again our Occupational Therapy (OT) team are showcasing at state meetings. They most recently attended the Pennsylvania Occupational Association’s conference where a number of students and faculty presented posters and gave presentations. This weekend, they are headed for the New Jersey Occupational Therapy Association (NJOTA) conference. Several faculty members will be presenting and student/mentor posters will be posted.  Andrea Tyszka, associate professor, will be presenting and will be receiving the award for The Certificate of Appreciation: Contribution to the Community through OT Practice Award for NJOTA this year. Dr. Fern Silverman, director of the OT doctoral program, and Dr. Lauren Sponseller, director of the OT department, will be presenting independent lectures, while Dr Sponseller, Dr. Brooke Kruemmling, assistant provost, and Brianna Brim, MOT, OTR/L, CPAMS, instructor and academic fieldwork coordinator, will all be presenting with students. Additionally, several of our students will be presenting posters with their mentors. They are:

• Zac Saunders  ’17OT/Dr. Barbara Schwartz-Bechet, interim dean, College of Education and Rehabilitation
• Ciara Bell OT ’17/ Dr. Barbara Schwartz-Bechet, interim dean, College of Education and Rehabilitation
• Rebecca Miller ’17OT/Brianna Brim, MOT, OTR/L, CPAMS, instructor and academic fieldwork coordinator
• Nina Goldfedder OT ’17/ Ciara Bell OT ’17/Brianna Brim, MOT, OTR/L, CPAMS, instructor and academic fieldwork coordinator

While at the American Academy of Optometry meeting, several of our faculty members and former students received high honors and 10 faculty members successfully challenged the Fellows exam and became Fellows of the Academy.

Dr. Mitchell Scheiman dean of Research and Biomedicine program director,  was the Glenn A. Fry lecturer this year. This is the second highest honor the Academy awards. Dr. Scheiman was recognized for and lectured on his groundbreaking work in convergence insufficiency. Dr. Lorraine Lombardi, interim dean for the College of Health Sciences, received the Michael G. Harris Family Award for Excellence in Optometric Education for her more than 40 years of sustained excellence in optometric education. Dr. Luigi Bilotto, a 1994 resident and adjunct professor, received the AAO-Essilor Award for Outstanding Contributions to International Optometry.

The following PCO faculty received their Academy Fellowship:

• Dr. Kriti Bhagat, assistant professor
• Dr. Byung Josh Kim, assistant professor
• Dr. Harpreet Minhas, instructor
• Dr. Siva Meiyeppen, instructor
• Dr. Laine Higa, assistant professor
• Dr. Jamie Neiman, assistant professor
• Dr. Mary Jo Thomas, instructor
• Dr. Andrew Meagher, instructor
• Dr. Kelsey Moody, instructor
• Dr. Ashley Maglione, instructor

I want to congratulate all of our awardees and new Fellows. These accomplishments represent years of hard work and a dedication to excellence that is the hallmark of our remarkable faculty - in all programs!

Finally, I’d like to remind everyone about Looking Out For Kids on November 11th. We hope many of you can attend this important fundraising event.

Have a wonderful weekend.  Be safe and have some fun.

Mike