Commencement 2006

A publication for the alumni and friends of the University of Missouri-St. Louis College of Optometry

Thirty-four students received their OD degrees at Commencement held on May 13,2006 in the beautiful Touhill Performing Arts Center on the University of Missouri-St.Louis campus. Chancellor Thomas George, PhD, assisted by Dean Larry Davis, OD,conferred the degrees. The new Doctors of Optometry then listened to the commence-ment address delivered by Stephen Lehmkuhle, PhD, Senior Vice President forAcademic A ffairs of the University of Missouri system, and a former College ofOptometry faculty member. Dr. Lehmkuhle creatively introduced five vision facts anddrew analogies appropriate to life. His address was both educational and entertaining. Awards were presented to a number of students, with Mark Gifford receiving the Dean’saward for outstanding academic performance. A reception followed along with a visualpresentation of class memories. The members of this year’s graduating class are:

Christopher William A r n o l d Michael Kent ManionCamron J. Bateman Jill R. McNaughtonTimothy Joseph Blankenship Ryan Michael McNettMichael D. Criswell Leighan Reneé MonroeGennadiy M. Dameshek Laura B. MontgomeryKyle D. Dohm Kyle Bruce PorischLoralie Ellington Emma M. SchafersAndrew W. Franken Lisa M. SchembriSarah DeAnn Frye Matthew Thomas StanleyJennifer Furstenau Sarvitree SukaromyaMark W. Giff o r d Vicky Kay T h o m a sJordan E. Gwaltney Keith Norman Ty h u r s tTraci L. Hahn Heather M. We b e rLianne L. Innes Courtney L. We s t r i c h - Va n N o yMark Andrew Kahrhoff Karen Suzanne Wi l k i n s o nCatherine Emily Kister Joshua D. Wi l s o nDana J. Krause Annette Michelle Wo l ff

Summer 2006

Message from the Dean

The brief summer months (I am amazed athow short it has become) provide an opportuni-ty to celebrate and reflect upon the many indi-vidual and collective accomplishments of theprevious academic year. A little over twomonths ago, a new group of budding studentclinicians began their journey to acquire theexperience and clinical wisdom necessary to becompetent practitioners. Also, the summer pro-vides an opportunity to reflect upon the Classof 2006 -- 34 new Doctors of Optometry --who are commencing into their optometriccareers and no doubt look back with amaze-ment at how quickly their time has arrived.

Faculty often use the summer to work with col-leagues in order to explore an important andyet unanswered question or implement ways tomake a great teaching and learning programb e t t e r. Similarly the staff often make adjust-ments to processes and procedures thatimprove the overall effectiveness of the col-lege. Those times for reflection are an essentialingredient for a relevant, vibrant and eff e c t i v einstitution.

I look forward to the next academic year withgreat anticipation. Ideas to improve studentlearning, which when looking back may berecognized as transformational, will emerge inthe coming months. Te c h n o l o g y, which beganas an idea among members of the faculty ands t a ff, holds promise for entering the market-place. Also, the seed for an efficient and attrac-tive facility for our academic, clinical andresearch activities could grow into a practicalendeavor this academic year. I am hopeful thatwe will be able to share news of progresstowards a new facility next summer…when we take the opportunity to reflect upon2006-07.

Celebrate, Reflect, Renew!

Best Regards,

“ A college degree is not a sign that one is afinished product but an indication

a person is pre p a red for life.”R e v. Edward A. Malloy

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NEWS & NOTES White Coat Ceremony♦ Carol Peck, PhD, was awarded aCoin by the Air Force Institute ofTechnology for her “years of service asan advisor, mentor and teacher ofAFIT students”.

♦ The College of Optometry’s appli-cant pool for the class of 2010increased by 31% over the number ofapplicants for the class of 2009. Thatrepresents over 8 applicants for eachavailable slot. Congratulations tothose involved in student recruitment:Barb Brown, OD ‘88, Ed Bennett, OD,Linda Stein, Irene Ericson, MikeHinchcliff, members of the AdmissionsCommittee, and Tammy Jones whonavigated the bumps created by thetransition to the People SoftApplication!

♦ Edward Bennett, OD, also had anarticle, Gas permeable toric use andapplications: Survey of Section onCornea and Contact Lens Diplomatesof the American Academy ofOptometry, Blackmore K, Bachand N,Bennett, ES, published in the Januaryissue of Optometry Journal of theAmerican Optometric Association.

♦ Vengu Lakshminarayanan, PhD,recently had a book chapter pub-lished, Lenses and Optics of the Eye,Module 2, Active Learning in Opticsand Photonics, Ed., D. Sokoloff,United Nations Educational, Culturaland Scientific Organization, Paris,2006. Vengu also delivered an invitedtalk at the Institute of Optics,Rochester, NY, in March, 2006

♦ Other faculty publications include: JSheshadri, V Lakshminarayanan, JChristensen, Farnsworth and Kinnearmethod of plotting the Farnsworth-Munsell 100-Hue test scores: a com-parison, J. Mod. Optics, July, 2006.

♦ Vengu Lakshminarayanan, PhD,was co-director and lecturer in aworkshop on Mathematical Methodsin Optics held at the InternationalInstitute for Theoretical Physics,Trieste, Italy, in January, 2006. Hewas also a lecturer and member of theOrganizing Committee of the 4thUNESCO workshop on active learningin optics and photonics held inMarrakech, Morrocco, April, 2006.

White coats were awarded to 40 students in a ceremony on May 10, 2006, heldin the Student Millennium Center on the University of Missouri-St. Louis campus.The white coat is a sign that the students have completed their first two years of pro-fessional education and have achieved the credentialing necessary to begin providingcare as interns in the Center for Eye Care.

“Encouraging words” were provided by Gary Bachman, OD, and Ed Jarka, OD.The coveted white coats were then presented to the students by John Crane, OD ‘91,and Ed Bennett, OD. The Optometric Oath was administered to the new clinicians byBrian Brunig, OD, and a reception followed this professional-rite-of-passage. Theevent was organized by the class of 2007.

The event concluded with the dean extending special recognition to Ms. Zoe Lylewho received the Dean’s Award for Meritorious Service. She became the eighth recip-ient of the award. Earlier this year, Zoe completed 13 years of distinguished serviceas executive director of the Missouri Optometric Association.

Students receiving white coats this year are:

Andrea Andrud Adam LeeTrevor Askew Rebecca LehrAmanda Bahr Jessica MaiErin Barr Melissa MasseyJennifer Brave Suman NavalgundJessica Downs Rick PautzLeslie Falch Rachelle PenkaDan Friederich Jeffrey PikulErin Genua Sara PyattJoanna Gervais Bobak RafatiNavroop Gill Vandana RajaramSheila Grieve Emily ThomasEneida Hafezi Cody TubbsAmber Hanschu Kyle WeedenKatie Howard Jenny WeeksSally Irwin David WiegmanAlana Keller Justin WilkinsonAnne Lakamp Clint WolkJennifer Lawson Rebecca Zak

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From Optometry Student to Curator(Part One)

Recently, EYEwire had an opportunityto interview Anne Ream, OD ’84, agraduate of the College of Optometry’sinaugural class. Dr. Ream is currentlya curator of the University of Missouri.

EYEwire: First of all, thank you fortaking the time for this interview.

Curator Ream: You’re welcome.

EYEwire: As a member of the “pio-neer class” of the College ofOptometry, what do you think of theoptometric education you received?Has it served you well?

Curator Ream: I think I received anexcellent education at UMSL. I wassurprised at how grueling the course-work was. Everything had to be doneat top speed. Our class, maybebecause we were the first ever, wasvery close. Our education prepared uswell for practice, even though noteverything was ready at the schoolwhen we went through. Everyone inthe class passed the NBEO exam thefirst time they took it. That was a first,and the Dean received a congratulatoryletter from the NBEO.

EYEwire: How did you come to beappointed a curator?

Curator Ream: Bob Holden is fromBirchtree, MO, which is very near myMountain View office. I was the Chairof the Governmental RelationsCommittee of the MOA and first metBob Holden at a political event. Hementioned that he had never had muchsuccess in raising money or votes inmy area of the state, so I offered tohelp him if need be. I didn’t think I’dhear from him and was surprised whenI received a call informing me thatHolden was going to run for governorand needed several thousand dollarsraised quickly. I called people andraised the money for Holden, mostlyfrom republicans, even though he wasa democrat. Later on, at his request, Iorganized a fund raiser that raised$30,000 for Holden’s gubernatorialcampaign. It surprised me when hewon the governorship.

I then received a call asking mewhat I would like to do in the newadministration. I asked to be appoint-ed to the Board of Health because atthat time our profession was havingdifficulty with insurance coverage.That turned out not to be a governor’sappointment. In the meantime, then-Chancellor Touhill heard about theoffer that had been made to me. Sheknew me personally due to my havingbeen named a Distinguished Alum ofUMSL. She suggested that I ask to beappointed a curator. So I asked to be a

curator. The response from Holden’soffice was that it was unlikely thatwould happen; I was told that every-one wants to be a curator.

However, I was given the paper-work to fill out to initiate the process.As it turned out, Governor Holdennominated me, but confirmation by thelegislature was slow in coming. Iguess, they weren’t sure they knew mypolitical leaning. The Governor pulledmy name just before the end of thelegislative session, then resubmitted itjust after the session ended. I think thelegislature realized how determined hewas about my appointment, because Iwas confirmed in the subsequent ses-sion without much fuss.

EYEwire: That was a first, the first ofour graduates to become a curator, butyou’ve had other firsts, haven’t you?

Curator Ream: Yes, I was also thefirst UMSL grad and the first female tobecome MOA President.

EYEwire: This sort of thing runs inyour family, doesn’t it?

Curator Ream: Yes, it does. Mymother was a two-term mayor ofThayer, Missouri

Dr. Ream’s interview will be continuedin the Fall issue of the EyeWire.

The EYEwire is published by the Office of the Dean at the University ofMissouri-St. Louis College of Optometry.

Dr. Jerry Christensen, EditorJChristensen@umsl.edu

Janice White, Designerjanice.white@umsl.edu

Dr. Larry J. Davis, Deanljdavis@umsl.edu

If you prefer to receive your newsletterelectronically, please email Dr.Christensen and provide your emailaddress. Thanks! (If we already haveyour email address there is no need tore-submit it.)

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Office of the Dean

One University BoulevardSt. Louis, Missouri 63121-4400

Telephone: 314-516-5606Fax: 314-516-6708

http://optometry.umsl.edu

Non-Profit Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDSt. Louis, MOPermit No. 3

Dr. Larry Davis presented the Dean’s Awardfor Meritorious Service to Ms. Zoe Lyle atthe White Coat ceremony. She became theeighth recipient of the award. Earlier thisyear, Zoe completed 13 years of distin-guished service as executive director of theMissouri Optometric Association. See relat-ed article on page 2.

Annual August Academe-------Sunday, August 27, 2006Co-sponsored by the UM-St. Louis College of Optometry & the Ophthalmic Education Institute.

Eight hours of COPE continuing education.Tuition will be $220 on or before August 11 and $250 after August 11, 2006. (Fees include lunch.)Speakers: Carl Bassi, Ph.D.; Michael J. Cooney, M.D., M.B.A.; Stuart Richer, O.D.Ph.D.; Allen Taylor, Ph.D.

Millennium Student Center, North Campus, UM-St. Louis8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Please contact Lis Ellerbusch at (314) 516-5615 for more course information.Please contact Ann Larsen at (314) 516-5948 for registration.