The Visionary Fall 2009

The Visionary – Fall 2009 • Page # O n August 10, 2009, something historic happened at Nova Southeastern University College of Optometry (NSUCO). Any ideas? On this date, we welcomed the 21 st entering class to the College of Optometry family. In 1989, Southeastern University of the Health Sciences opened the doors to the first college of optometry in the state of Florida. During the early years, the college was directed by Stewart Abel, O.D. (dean), Lester Janoff, O.D. (associate dean), Roland Gaudett, O.D. (associate dean), and Howard Purcell, O.D. (assistant dean). This new college differed from the rest of the schools and colleges of optometry at the time in that the curriculum was intertwined with the College of Osteopathic Medicine. In fact, the College of Optometry was housed in a former hospital building on 163 rd street in North Miami Beach, Florida. For the first time, optometry students would be educated by basic science faculty alongside osteopathic medicine students. This revolutionary interdisciplinary concept in optometric education was not without problems or complications, but the original administration and faculty of the College of Optometry made this new educational system work. The original four faculty members were Bob Gilliam, O.D., Manuel Bergman, O.D., Martha McKay, O.D., and Wanda Able, O.D. Other notable early faculty members included Morton Silverman, O.D., Robert Hutchinson, O.D., Paul Farkas, O.D., N. Scott Gorman, O.D., M.S., Ed.D., Stan Crossman, O.D., and Jack Solomon, O.D. The early years of Southeastern University College of Optometry were difficult as the medical science faculty learned how to teach optometry students and optometry students learned how to learn from medical science faculty. Incredibly, in many classes, the medical science professors had to create two separate tests—one multiple-choice for medical students and one fill-in-the-blank for optometry students. But everyone persevered, and at the end of four years, Southeastern University College of Optometry graduated its first O.D.s in May 1993. Maria Adis, O.D., was the first student to walk across the stage and receive her degree as a graduate of Southeastern University College of Optometry. The class consisted of 27 students: 17 men and 10 women. These 27 O.D.s are the only optometrists in the country that have a degree that reads “Southeastern University College of Optometry.” They should be very proud of this designation because they were truly the By Michael Bacigalupi, O.D., M.S., FAAO, Assistant Professor of Optometry and Assistant Dean for Student Affairs