NSUCO - The Visionary Spring 2012

THE V ISIONARY • S PRING 2012 — 1 DEAN’S MESSAGE As dean of the College of Optometry, I am delighted that 2011 has brought about yet another fruitful year under the auspices of the new NSU president and chief executive officer, George L. Hanbury II, Ph.D. Change can be difficult, but with input from con- stituent groups and proper communication, change can enhance advancement and help us grow as a team with similar goals. One such goal for NSU is the promotion of the undergraduate programs. In 2007, the College of Optometry started its Prepara- tory Optometry Program (POP) in collabo- ration with the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences. Students who are interested in the professional program but fall short of the entrance requirements may be given the opportunity to demonstrate their abil- ity by successfully completing undergradu- ate and basic science courses. The POP brings highly motivated students to the un- dergraduate and professional programs, thus supporting several core values while enhancing educational programs. Academic excellence still remains the driv- ing force in most everything we do. Al- though the number of applicants for all the optometry programs in the country is rela- tively constant, the College of Optometry continues to recruit only the best candi- dates and maintains its high standards for admission. Michael Bacigalupi, O.D., M.S., assistant dean for student affairs, and Fran Franconeri, college recruiter, have begun an active recruitment program by updating the college’s Web site, incorporating videos, initiating a blog, and developing a program for recruitment assistance by alumni, in addition to visiting pre-optome- try/health clubs throughout Florida, the United States, and Canada. The Eye Care Institute, the clinical arm of the college, has five primary sites: Davie, North Miami Beach, Broward Boulevard, the Broward Lighthouse, and Kids in Dis- tress. With the diversity of patients, services offered, technology available, and out- standing faculty expertise, the clinical train- ing the students receive is second to none, and I truly believe it is a major strength of the NSU optometry program. Linda Rouse, O.D., assistant dean for finance and chief operating officer for The Eye Care Institute, has been continually adding vision/health care insurance plans and grants so our stu- dents can provide faculty-supervised vision care to the community. Along with changes at the university, new administrators have been appointed at the college with Joseph Sowka, O.D., as depart- ment chair for optometric science, Barry Frauens, O.D., as department chair for clinic education, and Josephine Shallo-Hoffmann, Ph.D., as associate dean for academic affairs. Melanie Crandall, O.D., director of continu- ing education, has been organizing the col- lege for our accreditation visit later this year in the additional role of chair of the college ACOE Accreditation Committee. Lori Volmer, O.D., director of residencies, diligently prepares for our numerous resi- dency accreditation visits and along with Yin Tea, O.D., pediatrics residency chair, re- ceived a positive preliminary report from the site team that visited the college in Jan- uary. Alexandra Espejo, O.D., director of ex- ternships, had the arduous task last year of assigning externship rotations for our ex- tremely large class that will be graduating in May. In May, Bai-Chuan Jiang, Ph.D., along with Dr. Tea and I, once again visited our affili- ate universities and externship sites in China at Fudan University in Tianjin. Not only do we send optometry students for a clinical rotation at these sites, we also offer training for visiting Chinese scholars and faculty members who come to NSU and spend six months to one year teaching our students, learning about optometric tech- niques, and performing research. Follow- ing the success of these international relationships, we are now exploring an ex- change program with Taiwan as well as re- cruiting advanced-standing students from China into our professional degree and on- line graduate program. As you can see, the college’s faculty and staff members and administration are in- volved in enhancing the college. I thank them all for the work accomplished. I look forward to another exciting year full of challenges and opportunities, faculty mem- ber and student accomplishments, and the continued positive growth for the future of the College of Optometry and Nova South- eastern University. David S. Loshin, O.D., Ph.D., FAAO Although the number of applicants for all the optometry programs in the country is relatively constant, the College of Optometry continues to recruit only the best candidates and maintains its high standards for admission. “ “