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 In public higher education, the construct of the "Educational Pipeline" has become a prominent feature in planning and policy development. The "education pipeline" generally reflects the strategic importance being given to support students as they transition through segments of their educational pathway; not only from high school to college, but also from community colleges to four year colleges and beyond. At the core of these efforts is the understanding that "educational capital", or the number of knowledgeable and highly skilled people in a state's workforce, is essential to a state's competitive economic position in the world.
In SUNY's new Strategic Plan, "The Seamless Educational Pipeline" is one of "Six Big Ideas" whose intent is captured with the promise of "cradle to career" partnerships. This promise of educational access and support transcends graduation and establishes the goal as the attainment of successful and fulfilling careers for the people of New York State.
The College of Optometry is making a similar commitment to alumni and practitioners throughout the region with the expansion of our continuing professional education programs and through our new partnership with the New York State Optometric Association: CE-NY. CE-NY is a collaboration through which doctors of optometry, state-wide, can access continuing professional education courses. This professional-industry initiative will provide continuing education opportunities in five regions of the State, including, Manhattan, Long Island, Hudson Valley Central and Western New York.
The first CE-NY program took place this past weekend at West Point, NY and represents the best in collaboration, educational innovation and our commitment to a life-long education pipeline for the profession.
David A. Heath, O.D., Ed.M.
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First CE-NY Program Held
CE-NY, a collaborative effort of the College and the New York State Optometric Association (NYSOA), held the first of five CE-NY events that will be taking place throughout the State this year. On May 23rd, Dr. Mitchell Dul, Dr. Kelly Nichols and Dr. Gary Oliver led an interactive panel discussion on "Current Trends in the Management of External Eye Disease". Each panelist brought with them a wealth of knowledge and experience that helped make the education practical and enjoyable. The first CE-NY event was well attended and prompted the following response from an attendee...."the best single day of CE in years...". The next CE-NY event will take place at the College on June 13, 2010. If you would like to register for upcoming CE-NY events, contact the NYSOA at either www.nysoa.org or at 1-800-342-9836. For further information and a listing of upcoming CE-NY events, you may log on to the College website www.sunyopt.edu or call 212-938-5830. |
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D I D Y O U K N O W ? |
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The percentage of New Yorkers who are classified as obese (Body Mass Index 30.0 - 99.8) has increased 10% in the past fifteen years, with the CDC reporting an obesity rate of 24.5% in 2009. (Source - CDC Behavioral Risk Factor Serveillance System)
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- H I G H L I G H T S -
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Students Have Online Access to Tuition and Fees Account
The Business Office has announced that SUNY College of Optometry students now have the ability to access their tuition and fees account balance on line. Thanks to the efforts of the Information Technology Office, this new feature enables the students to access their balances via a secure portal. Access is available by logging on to https://my.sunyopt.edu using their network user id and password. The Business Office and the Office of Information Technology are currently working to also offer the ability to make payments online.
Although students will no longer receive printed bills, this enhancement does not preclude the University's policy that bills are to be paid by the first day of classes. Students still have the responsibility to ensure that payment is made to avoid late charges.
The Business Office remains available for any inquiries and for payments.
SUNY Leo Club Receives Charter as official Lions Club
 After setting three goals to accomplish this academic year, the Leo Club of the SUNY College of Optometry had a 100 percent success rate. They re-established the Blood Drive at SUNY Optometry; fundraised for a charity; and, evolved the Leo Club to a fully recognized Lions Club while maintaining their traditional involvement in screenings and Vision Therapy tutoring. The Blood Drive gave them the distinction of collecting the most pints of blood in the school's history.
Their most successful and satisfying moment, says James Kim, President, of the SUNY Optometry Leo Club was the recent receipt of approval from Lions Club International. With guidance from the current District 20-R2 Governor, Loretta Wu, and sponsored by the Bronx Lions Club, the former Leo Club is accepted as a Lions Club and transitions from being a student-only club to a club that will include faculty and staff of the College making it unique among the College's various student organizations.
To celebrate this acceptance, the SUNY Optometry Lions Club hosted a Charter Night dinner  and ceremony on April 21st to which SUNY faculty, staff and administrators were invited, as well as members from other local Lions Clubs. Honored guests included District Governor Loretta Wu and Immediate Past District Governor Juana Alejo who, together with District Governor Wu, led the ceremony and presented the official charter. In addition to President Heath, several faculty members were in attendance -- Dr. Robert Duckman, Chair of the Department of Vision Sciences; Dr. Julia Appel, President of the Alumni Association; Dr. Richard Madonna, Director of Continuing Education and Chief of Ocular Disease and Special Testing. The guest speaker was Dr. Susan Danberg '84 who has been the Global Clinical Advisor to the Special Olympics-Lions Club International Opening Eyes.
The officers of the SUNY Optometry Lions Club are: James Kim, President; Christina Chu, Vice President/Membership Chairperson, and Kevin Lam, Secretary/Treasurer.
At the end of the event, the chapter thanked everyone who assisted, contributed and participated in the club and its various activities. Congratulations to the SUNY Optometry Lions Club for achieving their goals! |
Richard M. Held, Ph.D. Honorary Degree Candidate
 On June 6, 2010, at the commencement of the State University of New York, College of Optometry, the University will bestow upon Dr. Richard M. Held the degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa. Dr. Held is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston and part-time Professor at the New England College of Optometry. His research is on the study of the developing visual system which provides an important perspective on the functioning of vision and on its neuronal substrate. His laboratory has developed noninvasive procedures for studying visual development in human infants and children and these procedures have yielded previously unavailable normative data on the development of basic visual functions.
Dr. Held will give a seminar on Monday, June 7th on "Revisiting the Molyneux Question: Recovery of Vision in the Formally Congenitally Blind". This seminar will describe his work on the recovery of visual function in children whose sight was restored after years of blindness from infant cataracts. He also will address an old philosophical problem regarding perception -- Molyneux's Problem.
We congratulate Dr. Held on this momentous occasion.
2010 Commencement Awards
Academic Awards and Clinical Awards
BETA SIGMA KAPPA AWARD for Academic Excellence:
Marc Kenneth Lay
DR. FREDERICK W. BROCK MEMORIAL AWARD for Outstanding Clinical Performance in Vision Training:
Erica L. Schulman
COVD AWARD for Excellence in Vision Training:
Amy Chang
COLUMBIA CLASS OF 1936 AWARD for Academic & Clinical Achievement in Ocular Disease:
Marc Kenneth Lay
CLASS OF 1991 PACE SETTER AWARD for Excellence in Primary Care:
Claudia Calogero
DR. STANLEY EISENBERG MEMORIAL AWARD for Excellence in Practice Development and Administration:
Kristen Taylor Shibley
DR. WILLIAM FEINBLOOM MEMORIAL AWARD for Outstanding Clinical Proficiency in Low Vision:
Roseann Guglielmo
IRA GOLDFARB MEMORIAL AWARD for Excellence in Low Vision:
Kirti P. Patel
DR. LOUIS HERRMANN MEMORIAL AWARD for Outstanding Compassion in Patient Care:
Amy Chang
MR. AND MRS. IRVING UNGER GRADUATION AWARD for Excellence in Optometry:
Christina Marie Kim Gorman
ESTHER J. WERNER MEMORIAL AWARD for Academic Excellence:
Stephanie Leah Wong
Special Recognition
CHANCELLOR'S AWARD FOR STUDENT EXCELLENCE
Marc Kenneth Lay
Service Awards
DR. MAX COHEN MEMORIAL AWARD for Volunteer Commitment to Community Service:
Paul Timothy Heeg
MORTON L. KIMMELMAN MEMORIAL AWARD for Student Leadership in Organized Optometry:
Paul Timothy Heeg
Diane M. Russo
BILLIE M. LYONS MEMORIAL AWARD for Distinguished Service to the College Community:
Melanie C. Tolan
Emmanuel Dela Cruz II
NYSOA AUXILIARY AWARD for Outstanding Service to the Class of 2010:
Diane Russo
Professional Distinction
ALCON AWARD for Outstanding Case Report on the Use of an Alcon Product:
Shephali Patel
Katherine Y. Shen
GP LENS INSTITUTE CLINICAL EXCELLENCE AWARD for Outstanding Clinical Proficiency in Contact Lenses:
Anny Pi-ning Chen
DAVID J. KERKO LOW VISION AWARD (sponsored by Winchester Optical) for Outstanding Clinical Proficiency in Low Vision:
Katie Suzanne Hargis
DR. WILLIAM M. EISENBERG MEMORIAL AWARD (sponsored by Alcon) for Excellence in Ocular Disease:
Christina Marie Kim Gorman
ESCHENBACH AWARD for Excellence in Low Vision:
Jeannette Erica Cheu
MARCHON AWARD for Excellence in Practice Management:
Kristen Taylor Shibley
MIRA-MED 20/20 VISION AWARD for Excellence in Optometry:
Amanda Paige Martin
VISION SERVICE PLAN for Excellence in Primary Care and Commitment to enter Private Practice:
Marc Kenneth Lay
Megan Melvin
VISTAKON EXCELLENCE AWARD for Excellence in Clinical Contact Lenses Patient Care:
Michelle Penshorn
Resident Award
DR. MARTIN H. BIRNBAUM MEMORIAL AWARD
(Given to a Vision Therapy resident who demonstrated outstanding knowledge and skills in Behavioral Optometry):
Grace Morano, O.D.
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| - U N I V E R S I T Y E Y E C E N T E R - |
U.S. Latinos Have High Rates of Developing Vision Loss and Certain Eye Conditions
Los Angeles Latino Eye Study is First to Track Eye Disease Incidence in Latino Population
Researchers have found that Latinos have higher rates of developing visual impairment, blindness, diabetic eye disease, and cataracts than non-Hispanic whites. These are the first estimates of visual impairment and eye disease development in Latinos, the largest and fastest growing minority population in the United States. The research was part of the Los Angeles Latino Eye Study (LALES) which was supported by the National Eye Institute (NIH), one of the institutes of the National Institutes of Health. LALES began in 2000 as the nation's largest and most coomprehensive study of vision in Latinos.
"This study showed that Latinos develop certain vision conditions at different rates than other ethnic groups", said Rohit Varma, M.D., M.P.H., principal investigator of LALES and Director of the Ocular Epidemiology Center at the Doheny Eye Institute, University of Southern California. "The burden of vision loss and eye disease on the Latino ommunity is increasing as the population ages and many eye diseases are becoming more common."
Hispanics numbered 45 million in the United States as of 2007, according to the Census Bureau. In the current phase of LALES, researchers examined more than 4,600 Latinos, four years after they initially enrolled in the study, to determine the development of new eye disease and the progression of existing conditions, including visual impairment, blindness, diabetic eye disease, age-related macular degeneration and cataracts.
"These data have significant public health implications and present a challenge for eye care providers to develop programs to address the burden of eye disease in Latinos," said NEI Director, Paul A Sieving, M.D., Ph.D. "NEI has a strong record of commitment to educating the Latino community and health care providers about eye diseases through its National Eye Health Education Program and will continue to make this a priority."
"These results underscore the importance of Latinos, especially those with diabetes, getting regular, dilated eye exams to monitor their eye health," Varma said. "Eye care professionals should closely monitor Latinos who have eye disease in one eye because their quality of life can be dramatically impacted if they develop the condition in both eyes.
For information about the National Eye Health Education Program's Ojo con su Vision! (Watch out for your Vision) program, which provides culturally appropriate vision health information for Latinos, visit http://www.nei.nih.gov/nehep/programs/ojo/index.asp . |
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- C O N T I N U I N G E D U C A T I O N -
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Current Trends in the Management of Corneal Disease,
Cataract and Surgical Correction of Refractive Error
Where & When
SUNY College of Optometry
33 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036
P 212-938-5830
June 13, 2010 ~ 9 AM-4 PM
Cost per course on or before June 4: AOA members $125 ~ Non-members $250
After June 4, a late fee of $25 will be added.
CE-NY is a collaborative effort of the SUNY College of Optometry and the New York State Optometric Association. SUNYCO and NYSOA are embarking on this new interactive initiative to deliver outstanding continuing education practically in your backyard! SUNY is a participating member of the Council of Optometric Practitioner Education (COPE) and the entire CE-NY program has been submitted for approval. The program has also been submitted for approval in Florida. For more information on the CE-NY program, visit the NYSOA website at www.nysoa.org. | 
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- P E R S O N N E L -
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WELCOME
 After an extensive, nationwide search, Ms. Stacy Weiss has been appointed Associate Director of Continuing Professional Education. She has a broad background in non-profit and continuing education working with both a variety of health professionals and students. She was involved in the creation, development and facilitation of many continuing education programs and have always been passionate about her work. Originally from Florida, Stacy has a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Social Sciences and a M.A. in Adult Education, both from the University of Florida. Ms. Weiss will replace Mr. Matthew Platarote, who is re-locating to North Carolina on June 8th. We join Dr. Richard Madonna and the Office of Continuing Professional Education in welcoming Ms. Weiss to the College community.
 The College and the Office of Business Affairs is pleased to announce that Ms. Yodania Paulino has joined the staff in the capacity of Calculations Clerk 2. Ms. Paulino brings much experience in the area of accounts payable. For the past three years, she was a clerk in the Primary Care Clinic of the College's University Eye Center and was promoted to this position in March. She is currently pursuing her BA degree in Interdisciplinary Studies at City College of the City University of New York (CUNY). We congratulate her and wish her success in her new position.*
*This is a correction to the article that appeared last month in the April issue of FY EYE.
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