Members of the UAB School of Optometry’s first class were recruited by founding dean Henry B. Peters and began their studies in September 1969, exactly 50 years ago. Pictured left to right are Michael E. Raim, Nelson G. Crandal, Eugeni Sturtevant, Peters, Ernest S. Spohn, Alan G. Tavel, Neil M. Bleakley, Gene J. Terrezza and Ronald E. Dachelet. The school awarded its first bachelor degrees in physiological optics in 1971 and its first doctor of optometry degrees two years later.
The School of Optometry was the first school or college of optometry in the United States to have an intramural faculty practice, which began operating in 1971. The University Optometric Group was originally located in the school’s teaching clinic before moving into its own facility in UAB Eye Care nearly a decade later. It’s now the longest-operating optometry faculty practice in the country.
To learn more about how the School of Optometry has been changing the way people see the world for 50 years, visit their website to learn 50 historic facts and find information on 50th anniversary events.