SCO Welcomes 130 Graduates to Profession
 Southern College of Optometry welcomed 130 new graduates to the profession of optometry on Friday, May 8 at commencement ceremonies held at the Cannon Center in downtown Memphis. Jessica Haynes, OD '15, was class valedictorian, with Jacob Muller, OD '15, as salutatorian. Amy Puerto, OD '15, delivered the class address, with the commencement address being delivered by AOA President David Cockrell, OD '81 (see related story below). At the senior banquet the evening before, Scott Ensor, OD '01, and John Mark Jackson, OD '99, were named Faculty of the Year. Thanks to the generosity of alumni and friends, nearly $40,000 in scholarships and awards were given to graduates at an awards ceremony the day before commencement. A full list of graduates can be found in this news release.
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SCO Awards Honorary Degrees
Cockrell, Wall Honored
 SCO bestowed two honorary degrees at this year's commencement ceremony. David Cockrell, OD '81, received the honorary Doctor of Ocular Science degree. Dr. Cockrell is the 12th SCO graduate to lead the American Optometric Association. He has been active in leadership at the state and national level and practices in Oklahoma with his wife, Cherry Cockrell, OD '81. Receiving the honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree was Martin Wall, longtime Executive Director of the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO). Mr. Wall is retiring this year after leading ASCO for a quarter of a century. Learn more about the honorary degree recipients' careers in this news release. |
Young Alumni Receive Hayes Center Award
Practice Excellence Recognized
 The Hayes Center for Practice Excellence recognized three young alumni with the 2015 Practice of Excellence Award during this year's Capstone week program for graduates prior to commencement. The $5,000 award recognizes successful practices that exemplify the ideals of the Hayes Center to promote practice success. This year's recipients are Joe Sugg, OD '09, Randall Glass, OD '06, and James Hertzog, OD '06, all of whom practice in Arkansas. Learn more in this news release.
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CLASSNOTES AND UPDATES
News about SCO's Alumni and Faculty
H. Lowell Meister, Jr., OD '59, was awarded the Seventh-day Adventist denomination's Health Ministries Medal of Distinction. Read more in this news release.
Robert Sams, OD '62, recently retired after practicing 50 years in Elizabethton, Tennessee. Read more in this newspaper interview.
 George Haas, OD '70, pictured, was honored by the Arkansas Optometric Association as the 2015 recipient of the association's Lifetime of Excellence Award last month. After serving in the U.S. Navy, he went on to have private practices in Sherwood and Cabot, Arkansas for more than 42 years. He served as ArOA President in 1977. He is a 1976 graduate of the Rockefeller Foundation Institute of Politics and Government. He's been politically active in Arkansas since 1978, working to improve optometry's stature and pass pro-optometry legislation. Dr. Haas has received the state's OD of the Year Award three times, and was named SECO's OD of the South in 1996.
Gil Morgan, OD '72, has been selected for induction into the Oklahoma Golf Hall of Fame. Read more in this news story.
Jerry Hayes, OD '73, recently visited campus for the Hayes Center for Practice Excellence Advisory Board meeting. Other alumni participants included Christina Vranich, OD '09, Hayes Center Director Lisa Wade, OD '84, Stuart Tasman, OD '80, Glenn Goldring, OD '78, and Mark Kapperman, OD '87.
Stan Dickerson, OD '76, recently wrote this online column about his goals for the next year as SECO President.
Greg Clay, OD '77, recently received the 2015 Distinguished Service Award from the Oklahoma Association of Optometric Physicians. A fourth generation OD, he was one of the first ODs in his state to work with lasers. He has served as OAOP President and numerous capacities at the local and regional levels. Learn more in this news story.
 U.S. Senator John Boozman, OD '77, attended the 2015 Congressional Advocacy Conference. He's pictured with AOA President David Cockrell, OD '81, Glen Steele, OD '69, and AOSA President Hunter Chapman, '16.
Larry Washburn, OD '77, and his wife, Joyce, have been selected to receive honorary associate degrees from Colby Community College in Colby, Kansas. The Washburns are active supporters of the college, and their children also attended.
Gilan Cockrell, OD '80, has been named CEO of the Williams Group, a practice management, consulting and EHR firm based in Lincoln, Nebraska. Read more in this news story.
 DeAnne Witherspoon, OD '82, was also honored by the Arkansas Optometric Association as the 2015 recipient of the Lifetime of Excellence Award last month. She was an Air Force Officer for 10 years and received the Air Force Commendation Medal. In 2003, she was the first female president of the ArOA and has been active in a number of service roles in the Rogers, Arkansas area. She is married to David Witherspoon, OD '82, and retired last December.
Chevron Ergle, OD '04, was elected President of the Arkansas Optometric Association at the spring convention in April. Bryan Armstrong, OD '00, was named President-elect; Matt Jones OD '09, was elected Vice President; and Belinda Starkey, OD '04 was elected Secretary/Treasurer. Allyson Mertins, OD '97, and Jeff Netzel, OD '02, were re-elected to the Board, Melia Robertson, OD '10, was elected as a new board member, and Joe Sugg, OD '09, remains as a director on the board. Eight of the association's 11 board members are SCO graduates, so congratulations to these alumni for such a positive representation in Arkansas!
Johneen Gilich, OD '05, recently was named Wal-Mart's OD of the Year for her region and Mississippi.
 Christie Puglis Francia, OD '12, was joined by a number of classmates at her wedding reception on May 9 in Cincinnati. Pictured L-R are Drs. Diana Mikhail Bollenbacher, Jared Cox, Stephanie McLin Cox, Christie Puglis Francia, and Shannon Brown,
Nominations Welcomed for Alumni Awards
SCO alumni are invited to invite alumni for the college's Lifetime Achievement and Young Alumni Awards. Learn more about the criteria on this page. The deadline to submit a nomination is June 30.
An update to alumni with Tennessee licenses about the Tennessee Board of Optometry's requirement: SCO has submitted its online controlled substance prescribing course to satisfy the two-hour board requirement for relicensure. Once SCO has received approval from the board, the course video will be posted live on the SCO website and an announcement made about registration.
 Cecily Freeman has been named Director of Alumni Giving. She previously served as Annual Giving Coordinator in the Office of Institutional Advancement. A graduate of the University of Memphis, Freeman is available to discuss options that alumni can use to support their alma mater. Pictured with Herman Ginger, OD '72, at a recent alumni event, she may be contacted at cfreeman@sco.edu or by calling (901) 722-3290.
Faculty and SCO Updates Chris Borgman, OD, and Madeline Bost, OD '15, recently had an article published in Optometry Times about vision loss in a stroke patient.
Jason Duncan, OD '96, Lindsay Elkins, OD '07, Scott Ensor, OD '01, Michael Gerstner, OD '97, Whitney Hauser, OD '01, Al Kabat, OD, Karen Kehbein, OD, Chris Lievens, OD, Jennifer Sanderson, OD, Jennifer Snyder OD '12, and Patricia Estes Walker, OD, were among the faculty who lectured at last month's Spring CE on campus. SCO extends its appreciation to the more than 200 alumni and guests who attended.
Whitney Hauser, OD '01, has recently written several articles, including ones for Ophthalmology Management and EyeTubeOD.
Al Kabat, OD, was interviewed for this Optometry Times article about managing ocular surface disease. He co-authored an article in the March issue of Review of Optometry. Dr. Kabat and Whitney Hauser, OD '01, were interviewed about dry eye in Review of Cornea and Contact Lenses. SCO Interim President Lewis Reich, OD, PhD, Interim VP for Academic Affairs Bart Campbell, OD '87, and Paul Harris, OD, were recently inducted into the National Academies of Practice.  Karen Squier, OD, pictured, recently joined SCO's faculty after previously serving as a Clinical Assistant Instructor at the Illinois College of Optometry's Illinois Eye Institute. A graduate of the Pennsylvania College of Optometry, she will be teaching SCO's Vision Rehab OPT 302 this summer. Glen Steele, OD '69, was presented the AOA President's Award during the AOA Congressional Advocacy Conference in April, along with fellow recipient, U.S. Senator John Boozman, OD '77. Dr. Steele was presented his award by AOA President David Cockrell, OD '81. Marc Taub, OD, was quoted in an article on how vision can help diagnose concussions in Optometry Times. Greg Wolfe, OD, was interviewed by AOA Focus for an article on cataract risks. In Memoriam:- Russell Drenon, OD '47, Sedalia, MO
- Elmer Lagg, OD '48, Salisbury, NC
- Burton Bodan, OD '53, Memphis, TN
- William D. Lancaster, OD '55, Dothan, AL
- Kenneth Braun, OD '56, Aiken, SC
- Ronald Byars, OD '60, Griffin, GA
- Billy Lightsey, OD '60, Laurel, MS
- James L. Sistar, OD '80, Waycross, GA
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 UPCOMING EVENTS
Note the Dates for SCO's Events!
- June 25-27, Optometry's Meeting - AOA in Seattle, Washington. SCO's exhibit hall booth is #2404 and will be open each day. Make plans to join SCO's reception for alumni and friends the evening of Friday, June 26 from 6-7:30 pm in Room Willow B at the Sheraton Seattle.
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