Alumni
The UAB School of Optometry’s first graduating class marked its 50th anniversary. Bernie Scott, OD, Michael Scott, OD, and Ron Dachelet, OD, members of the 1973 class, attended the 2023 Convocation and Hooding Ceremony to recognize this milestone.
by Nathan Anderson
John Essinger, OD, is celebrating the 20th anniversary of his practice, Vestavia Eye Care (VEC). An externship site for almost as long, training future optometrists has been rewarding.
by Nathan Anderson
Steven H. Schwartz, OD, PhD, has been appointed to the rank of Distinguished Teaching Professorship, the State University of New York’s (SUNY) highest academic rank. He joins a select group of professors who have earned this distinction.
Read more: Alumnus appointed to Distinguished Teaching Professorship
by Nathan Anderson
David Lee, OD, class of 1988 at the UAB School of Optometry (UABSO), will be inducted into the Alabama Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame this spring.
Read more: Alumnus is National Wrestling Hall of Fame’s Alabama chapter inductee
MARCH 27, 1924 - DECEMBER 2, 2022
It is with great sadness that the UAB School of Optometry announces the passing of Lester Caplan, OD, M.Ed, FAAO, professor emeritus, and a pioneer of clinical contact lens research. He died on December 2nd, at the age of 98.
by Satina Richardson
Valencia Wells, OD, class of 2009, is the UAB School of Optometry Alumni Association’s 2022 Young Alumnus of the Year. She sites this honor and receiving the same honor from the Alabama Optometric Association (ALOA) as being highlights of her career thus far.
by Satina Richardson
For his thought leadership and contributions to the profession of optometry, Howell Findley, OD, is the 2022 UAB School of Optometry Alumni Association Alumnus of the year.
by Caleb Jones
Many UAB School of Optometry (UABSO) graduates do a great deal of work to advance the optometric profession in their communities and abroad. One such alumna is Dr. Angela Amedo, PhD. A native of Accra, Ghana who lives in Kumasi, Amedo earned her doctorate in vision science from UABSO in 2005 on a Fullbright scholarship. She returned to Ghana after graduation and has helped advance the profession in the country.
Read more: Dr. Angela Amedo, Ghana's first Professor of Optometry
by Satina Richardson
Paris Mullins, Jr., OD, class of 1985, opened his practice in May of 1986 and was the single doctor until May of 2021 when his son Nic Mullins, OD, class of 2021, joined him as a partner at the practice. In honor of their shared alma mater and new partnership, Magnolia Place Eyecare’s logo is fashioned after the legacy pins they received at Nic’s graduation from the UAB School of Optometry.
Read more: Alumnus’ son joins father’s practice, follows in his footsteps
Erika Morrow, MS, OD, opened the doors of ForSight Unique Eye Care and Eye Wear in The Historic District of Savannah on August 10th, 2019, 1500 miles away from home. Nearly three years later, the practice is thriving in part due to her civic involvement. Morrow, a 2016 UAB School of Optometry graduate, explains why she chose the practice’s location, her approach to business, and how her practice has benefited from being community-focused.
Read more: Community involvement helps alumnus' practice thrive
Dr. Rick Weisbarth, the UAB School of Optometry’s first Cornea and Contact Lens resident (1980-81), discusses how UABSO shaped his career path, his hopes for the future of the optometric profession, and gives insight to current students on how to be successful. Weisbarth currently serves as the Vice President of Professional Affairs-US Vision Care for Alcon.
Read more: Q&A: Rick Weisbarth, UABSO’s first Cornea and Contact Lens resident
by Caleb Jones
Two UAB School of Optometry class of 2012 alumni, Dr. Thomas Pinkston and Dr. Aimée McBride, are celebrating the completed renovation of their North Carolina optometry practice, Haywood Family Eye Care.
“For more than 60 years our office has been located on Main Street in historic downtown Waynesville,” Pinkston said. “It served us great for many decades, but we were running into two major problems: office space and parking. Our new facility will allow us to improve our patient experience and serve more patients.”
Read more: Alumni complete renovation and relocation of historic practice
Howard Day, OD, class of 1987, was named Optometrist of the Year by the 2021 Alabama Optometric Association (ALOA).
by Caleb Jones
Former UAB School of Optometry (UABSO) resident Chandra Mickles, OD, MS, FAAO, FSLS, has been appointed to the newly created role of North America Professional Education Lead, Myopia, at Johnson & Johnson (J&J) Vision.
Mickles will work to further strengthen J&J Vision’s education efforts to empower and train professionals about myopia, as well as create new ways of engaging customers through leadership and science. Mickles will be joining a motivated team of innovators and advocates who are all working to better understand myopia while partnering to find solutions. In this role, she will work closely with eye care professionals (ECPs)
Read more: Former Cornea and Contact Lens resident appointed to new Johnson & Johnson Vision role
Minh Duong, OD, of Primary Eyecare and Optical of Meridian, has been named the 2021 James Brownlee Optometrist of the Year by the Mississippi Optometric Association (MOA). The association presents the award annually to recognize significant contributions to the profession of optometry and to the public. He was also named a finalist for the 2021 Optometrist Community Service Award.
Gussie Branch, OD, class of 2016, was named the 2021 Young Optometrist of the Year by the Alabama Optometric Association (ALOA).
by Caleb Jones
The UAB School of Optometry Alumni Association named Rob Pate, OD, class of 2007, 2021 Alumnus of the Year.
“UABSO has produced and is home to a myriad of exceptional graduates that are doing and have done some incredible things,” Pate said. “To be recognized alongside them is a tremendous blessing.”
by Caleb Jones
The UAB School of Optometry Alumni Association named Brandon Runyon, OD, class of 2013, the 2021 Young Alumnus of the Year.
“I'm very shocked and honored to have been nominated and selected for this award,” Runyon said. “It's humbling to know that my colleagues felt my achievements to be worthy of this kind of recognition. I've always had a desire to push myself to the limits of my knowledge, embrace and effect change, and accept new challenges when the opportunities are presented in the interest of personal and professional growth.
by Lieutenant Matt Schaffner, OD
UAB School of Optometry Class of 2019
Each year, the UAB School of Optometry has several graduates who choose to serve as military optometrists. Lieutenant Matt Schaffner, OD, was kind enough to share his journey to becoming a military optometrist and provide a glimpse into a day in his life as an optometrist in the United States Navy. His wife and classmate, Ginny Carroll Schaffner, OD, is an optometrist in San Diego, CA.
Shad Wheatley, OD, and Warren Gwynn, OD, have won a UAB Excellence in Business Top 25 Award given by the UAB National Alumni Society. The two graduated from the UAB School of Optometry in 2002 and 2014, respectively, and are owners of Eye Care on the Ridge.
Read more: Graduates receive UAB Excellence in Business Award
Paul Batson, OD, class of 1998, has been named the 2020 Alumnus of the Year by the UAB School of Optometry Alumni Association. In addition to being an alumnus, he has been a part-time faculty member in ocular disease for nearly two decades.
Tommy Pinkston, OD, class of 2012, has been named the 2020 Young Alumnus of the Year by the UAB School of Optometry Alumni Association.
In recognition of the year 2020 and the significance of 20/20 in the field of optometry, the UAB School of Optometry is recognizing alumni whose careers have impacted communities, set precedents, or moved the profession forward in some way. With this in mind, meet Jim Marbourg, OD.
Read more: Twin alumni find success, opportunity in every situation
by Satina Richardson
On November 7, 2020, Day Eye Care celebrated an epic milestone—100 years of providing eye and vision care. It was on this day in 1920 that Frances J. Day, Sr., OD, received his reciprocity license in Alabama allowing him to open the optometry practice.
Howard Day, OD, UABSO class of 1987, is Frances Day’s grandson. He shared that obtaining the license wasn’t easy. However, during the 1920s Birmingham was booming.
In recognition of the year 2020 and the significance of 20/20 in the field of optometry, the UAB School of Optometry is recognizing alumni whose careers have impacted communities, set precedents, or moved the profession forward in some way. With this in mind, meet Brandon Runyon, OD.
In July 2019, he became the Chinle Service Unit’s Chief of Optometry. Since then, he has continued to serve as the residency program coordinator in addition to supervising and coordinating eye care services for approximately 37,000 Native Americans (predominantly Navajo) between the hospital clinic and two satellite outpatient optometry clinics. He would have never guessed this is where he would be now. Practicing the full scope of optometric practice has been very rewarding, affording him the opportunity to encounter and manage some very challenging and/or uncommon conditions that would otherwise be seen in a specialist’s office.
In recognition of the year 2020 and the significance of 20/20 in the field of optometry, the UAB School of Optometry is recognizing alumni whose careers have impacted communities, set precedents, or moved the profession forward in some way. With this in mind, meet C. T. (Tommy) Crooks III, OD.
In recognition of the year 2020 and the significance of 20/20 in the field of optometry, the UAB School of Optometry is recognizing alumni whose careers have impacted communities, set precedents, or moved the profession forward in some way. With this in mind, meet Ian Benjamin Gaddie, OD, FAAO.
In recognition of the year 2020 and the significance of 20/20 in the field of optometry, the UAB School of Optometry is recognizing alumni whose careers have impacted communities, set precedents, or moved the profession forward in some way. With this in mind, meet Wendy Marsh-Tootle, OD, MS, FAAO.
In recognition of the year 2020 and the significance of 20/20 in the field of optometry, the UAB School of Optometry is recognizing alumni whose careers have impacted communities, set precedents or moved the profession forward in some way. With this in mind, meet Mary Jean Sanspree, PhD, retired UAB School of Optometry faculty member. Sanspree served as director and associate scientist of education and outreach in vision research at the school. She was part of a team that saw a need for eye care in Alabama’s Black Belt. After being awarded multiple grants to initiate a longitudinal study about eye health in our Black Belt counties, outreach to the Black Belt that continues today through Community Eye Care (CEC) began.
In recognition of the year 2020 and the significance of 20/20 in the field of optometry, the UAB School of Optometry is recognizing alumni whose careers have impacted communities, set precedents or moved the profession forward in some way. With this in mind, meet Steven Schwartz, OD, PhD, SUNY College of Optometry professor. He has written textbooks that have been used by thousands of optometry students here in America and abroad. His first book, Visual Perception: A Clinical Orientation, was first published in 1994. The fifth edition came out in 2017. His other book, Geometrical and Visual Optics: A Clinical Introduction, is now in its third edition.
In recognition of the year 2020 and the significance of 20/20 in the field of optometry, the UAB School of Optometry is recognizing alumni whose careers have impacted communities, set precedents or moved the profession forward in some way. With this in mind, meet Paula Newsome, OD, MS, FAAO, FAARM, CHC. She opened the first optometry practice owned by an African-American female in the state of North Carolina.
Read more: I See 20/20: Paula Newsome, OD, MS, FAAO, FAARM, CHC
In recognition of the year 2020 and the significance of 20/20 in the field of optometry, the UAB School of Optometry is recognizing alumni whose careers have impacted communities, set precedents or moved the profession forward in some way. With this in mind, meet Woody Thigpen, OD. Through his work in Cambodia, he has helped improve the vision of more than 28,000 Cambodians in various villages.
By Tyra Rocker
Johndra McNeely, OD, has been named the 2019 Young Alumnus of the Year by the UAB School of Optometry Alumni Association. This is the inaugural year for the award.
Read more: McNeely named first-ever Young Alumnus of the Year
By Tyra Rocker
Gerald Simon, OD, class of 1985, has received the Alumnus of the Year award presented by the UAB School of Optometry Alumni Association. The award was granted to those who have displayed great achievements in their community, profession and school.
By Rasika (Khatu) Whitesell, OD, Class of 2013
Currently, I am practicing in Wilmington, NC, with Myeyedr. I have two small boys, ages 2.5 years and 9 months old. Also, I recently completed the NC Optometry leadership program and served as secretary of my local optometry society in 2016-2017. I have loved getting involved with the leadership side of optometry and look forward to becoming more involved in the future.
I graduated from the UAB School of Optometry in 2013, but it seems like just yesterday that I was walking the halls of the Henry B. Peters Building cramming for my next exam. There are so many things I have learned after graduation that one cannot put into words until you experience it for yourself. I will be sharing some tips with you on what I have learned after graduation.
Dr. Rob Pate is the husband of Dana Pate and father of 5 kids, Claire, Ellie, Jenna, James and John. He practices optometry at Basden Eye Care in Auburn, AL. He is the Immediate Past President of the Alabama Optometric Association, Legislative Committee Co-chair, SECO Board of Trustees, Auburn Community Church Elder and UABSO Alumni Association Board of Directors. Dr. Pate also enjoys participating in Auburn athletics. He is the Auburn University Athletics Team Optometrist, Columnist and host a Radio Show discussing Auburn athletics. He is also a member of Auburn Football Lettermen Club Board of Directors, Auburn Parks and Recreation and Football Board of Directors.
By Tyra Rocker
Andrew May, OD, and Barrett Martin, OD, of Johnson Optometric Associates (JOA) add a little flair to their clinic and the optometry business by making and sharing parody music videos on YouTube.
Read more: Alumni duo uses parody videos to market practice, entertain patients
Degree Awarded: O.D.
Graduation Year: 2016
Update: I purchased an established private practice in Albertville, Alabama in August 2017 from Dr. Randall Hoerth, who has since retired. We have a diverse patient base that allows me to see all ages, manage a variety of eye disease, co-manage with specialists as well as fit specialty contacts. In the spring of this year I added a partner, Dr. Katie Greer (UABSO '17) and opened a second office in Guntersville on July 2nd.
Monica Kennedy, OD, started wearing glasses when she was in middle school and the ride home with her first pair of glasses was the beginning of a life-changing experience. She could see the leaves on the trees and blades of grass on the ground that were no longer meshes of green.
Dr. Micah Kinney is the 30th Aerospace optometrist for the U.S. Navy and currently assigned as the Aerospace/Research Optometrist at the Naval Medical Research Unit Dayton, Dayton, OH. In this position, he works with DoD aviation communities to enhance performance, understand visual needs, determine vision standards, and protect warfighter vision.
The American Optometrist Association awarded Benjamin P. Casella, OD, an alumnus of the UAB School of Optometry, the 2019 Optometrist of the Year Award at the Optometry’s Meeting in St. Louis.
Read more: Benjamin Casella named AOA Optometrist of the Year
On Tuesday, May 7th, the UABSO Alumni Association hosted a panel discussion for fourth year students entitled, “We don’t know what we don’t know.” The panel consisted of recent graduates, and provided practical advice about the transition from being a student to becoming a practicing optometrist.
Read more: Alumni Association hosts panel for fourth year students
For alumni of the University of Alabama at Birmingham schools of Medicine, Dentistry and Optometry, the commitment to Alabama is significant, and it continues to make a tremendous impact on significant health needs in the state.
Read more: UAB alumni forging the future of medicine, patient care in Alabama
Your Story
What is your hometown? Clarkesville, GA
When did you graduate from UAB School of Optometry? 1983
Your career in Optometry
Name of your employer(s)/Practice and title, including location. I have a Private Practice, Jenkins Vision Care, in Athens, GA.
Why did you choose a career in Optometry? I chose optometry to be in a health profession that involved a significant amount of math (optics).
Where do you hope to see your optometric career in 5 years? I hope to still be practicing in 5 years, but to be within another 5 years of walking away from practice ( or maybe still practice a day or two per week).
Which optometric issues concern you the most? I am concerned about the corporate influence upon optometry and hope that private, independent optometry can remain a viable option for future O.D.'s.
Your Story
What is your hometown?
Greenville, Alabama
When did you graduate from UABSO?
2008
What would you say is your greatest accomplishment outside of the field of Optometry?
I would have to say that convincing my wife, Sarah Ellen, to marry me is my greatest accomplishment outside the field of Optometry.
Your Story
What is your hometown?
My hometown is Henderson, Kentucky.
When did you graduate from UAB School of Optometry?
I am in the UABSO Class of 2008.
What would you say is your greatest accomplishment outside of the field of Optometry?
Easy! Convincing (or was it duping?) Kim, the prettiest girl I’ve ever met, to marry me. Sixteen years and three kids later, I’ve still got the wool pulled over her eyes!
Officers were sworn in at the annual Alumni Association Open Business Meeting, which took place at the Alabama Optometric Association’s fall conference.
Incoming President Caleb Gardner said that this year the officers are looking forward to returning the Alumni Association to the purpose listed in the bylaws, in which they will support the UAB School of Optometry in recruiting, financially and by continuing to foster a fraternal spirit among alumni.
The UAB School of Optometry Alumni Association named Fred Wallace, O.D., Alumnus of the Year at the annual Alumni Association Open Business Meeting, which took place at the Alabama Optometric Association conference.
Read more: Fred Wallace, O.D., named 2018 Alumnus of the Year
Your Story
What is your hometown?
My hometown is Birmingham, AL.
When did you graduate from UAB School of Optometry?
I am in the UABSO Class of 2012.
What would you say is your greatest accomplishment outside of the field of Optometry?
My greatest accomplishment are my three amazing children, Edith (11), Maddie (7) and Sam (6).
What is your hometown?
Gallion, Alabama, which is in rural Marengo County, the “suburb” of Demopolis, Alabama.
When did you graduate from UAB School of Optometry?
May 18, 2009 (a date I’ll never forget)
What would you say is your greatest accomplishment outside of the field of Optometry?
Completing the Mercedes Half Marathon (13.1 miles of “fun”)
What is your hometown?
Opp, Alabama
When did you graduate from UAB School of Optometry?
1988
What would you say is your greatest accomplishment outside of the field of Optometry?
I was the first member of my family to get a college degree, and I was also the first one in my family to live most of my life outside the county where I was born.
The UAB School of Optometry Alumni Association named Douglas Clark, O.D., its alumnus of the year at the annual Continuing Education and Alumni Weekend, held Aug. 18-20 on the UAB campus.
Clark, who graduated from the School of Optometry in 1982, was named the alumnus of the year based on his service to the School of Optometry, to the profession and to his community. Each year, the board members of the Alumni Association select a member as the alum of the year based on these criteria.
Read more: Douglas Clark, O.D., named 2017 Alumnus of the Year
The UAB School of Optometry Alumni Association inducted new officers, and scholarships were awarded to students at the annual Continuing Education and Alumni Weekend, held Aug. 18-20 on the UAB campus.
Read more: New officers inducted, scholarships awarded at annual Alumni Weekend
Alumni leading the nation’s young optometrists in advocating for the profession, serving communities
As an optometrist in Greenville, South Carolina, Johndra McNeely, O.D., has organized several vision screenings for the Hispanic population in her community. Altogether, she helped to provide care for more than 140 patients, including some with advanced glaucoma that otherwise might have gone untreated.
A recent graduate of the UAB School of Optometry was named a recipient of the 2017 Johnson & Johnson Vision Award of Excellence in Contact Lens Patient Care.
Kate Oliver, O.D., received the award, which is presented by the American Optometric Foundation, for her demonstration of excellent knowledge of the contact lens field and her skillful and professional care of contact lens patients during her optometric education.
Read more: Graduate named recipient of Award of Excellence in Contact Lens Patient Care
An alumna of the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Optometry has been elected president of SECO International, a globally-recognized association for optometry.
Dr. Lynn Hammonds, who graduated from the School in 1991, is the second woman to be elected president of SECO International. The first was elected in 1933. Hammonds was elected president at SECO 2017, which was held in Atlanta, Georgia, where SECO International is headquartered.
Read more: Alumna elected as second female president for SECO International
