The School of Optometry & Vision Science celebrated many award winners in 2017, not only for students, staff, and faculty, but also through our expanded alumni awards this year. The School is pleased to provide recognition to our valued awardees!
On Friday, June 29th during the 2017 CAO Congress, the School of Optometry & Vision Science was pleased to announce the recipients of the 50th Anniversary Distinguished Alumni of Honour Awards in front of over 500 practitioners from across the country.
In the early sixties, the College of Optometry of Ontario, Canada’s only English speaking Optometry program, was held in only two modest buildings at 138 and 140 St George Street, in the heart of Toronto.The reality was that the St. George Street buildings were bursting at the seams as 4 years of an optometry program within a space measuring only 15,600 square ft. Back then, the full-time faculty only included three; Dean Ted Fisher, Walwyn Long, and Clair Bobier. Later joined by William Lyle, the first of the faculty to have a PhD. Soon the program received the right to provide the Doctor of Optometry degree and so the next step was to seek a location within a university.
Marking our golden anniversary this year at Waterloo's School of Optometry & Vision Science has been an exciting opportunity to look back at our history, recognize and celebrate distinguished members of our community, and look ahead to the next decade through our ongoing strategic planning exercise. Many of you celebrated with us during our combined celebration and Continuing Education (CE) event this fall. In this issue of our School Newsletter, we highlight some of the main events that we have been a part of during this exciting year.