Dr. Neal Bailey was born in Gardenville, New York, on November 6, 1917 and spent his summers on the banks of the Shiawasee River at a rustic family cabin north of Detroit. After graduating from high school, he completed chiropractic school in San Antonio, Texas.

During World War II, both he and his beloved wife of 57 years, Florence, worked seven days a week at the Ford Motor Company in Detroit, Flo in the payroll department, and Neal ran a steel furnace producing high-grade armor plating for tanks. They moved to Columbus in 1944 when the first of their two daughters was born; and Dr. Bailey graduated from The Ohio State University School of Optometry in 1947 with a BS in optometry (summa cum laude) and then again in 1954 with a PhD in physiological optics under the direction of Dr. Glenn A. Fry. He and his family then moved to Bloomington, Indiana, where he created the first contact lens teaching facility at the Indiana University School of Optometry.

In 1958, the Baileys returned to Columbus and opened a private practice of optometry in a three-story home on Ohio State’s Fraternity Row. Dr. Bailey, with Flo’s help, maintained a successful practice in the campus area for many years. Dr. Bailey served the college as clinical associate professor, 1990 convocation speaker, and major benefactor to the college, its students, and faculty. In his convocation address on June 7, 1990, he gave seven sage recommendations to the class, including, “Be sure to find a good lawyer,” “Honor thy teacher—for a really good teacher is hard to find,” and “Don’t confuse professionalism with costly furnishings and spacious offices. Professionalism is an attitude that needs constant nurturing.” Dr. Bailey was the editor and founder of Contact Lens Forum in 1976 and later the editor and founder of the Contact Lens Spectrum in 1986, two leading contact lens journals that have been combined.

Dr. Bailey authored 120 articles and chapters on contact lenses and practice management and was one of the first clinical investigators of soft contact lenses in the United States. He was the recipient of numerous prestigious awards, including Distinguished Practitioner in the National Academies of Practice (1984), the Max Schapero Award from the American Academy of Optometry (1986), the Leonardo da Vinci Award from National Eye Research (1988), and the Dr. Josef Dallos Award from the Contact Lens Manufacturers Association (1988). In 1989, he was honored as the “Contact Lens Person of the Year” by the American Optometric Association’s Contact Lens Section. In 1992, he received the Kevin Tuohy Award from the Contact Lens Society of America. On May 26, 1995, the college honored him again by striking a new medal presented to—and named for—him: the Neal J. Bailey Medal for Development.

Dr. Bailey was affectionately called the “Contact Lens Curmudgeon” by his friends for his insistence upon the highest principles of professionalism. According to Dr. Joe Barr (OD’77, MS’79), “Dr. Bailey was precise, organized and uncompromising as an optometrist and as a businessperson. Yet he was one of the most comfortable persons to be with.”

He was famous for joking that the perfect contact lens design was a “Holecon” lens: one with a 9-mm overall diameter and a 10-mm fenestration. He once served on a panel at an American Academy of Optometry annual meeting with Dr. Robert Mandell from the University of California, Berkeley School of Optometry, who was also a prominent clinician, educator, researcher, and author in the contact lens field at that time. When someone in the audience asked Dr. Mandell why he wore glasses instead of contact lenses, he replied: “My wife thinks I’m sexier in glasses.” When the same question was posed to Dr. Bailey, he said: “Because Bob Mandell’s wife thinks I’m sexier in glasses too!” Such was the wit of one of Ohio State’s most prominent optometric alumni.

Dr. Bailey sold his private optometry practice at 32 East 15th Avenue in 1981 to Dr. LaMar Zigler (OD/MS ‘81), and completely retired from practice in 1983. He and Flo then moved to Worthington and later to Laredo, Texas. In his retirement years, he traveled the United States to ride his bicycle on paths created by his favorite non-optometric charity, “Rails-To-Trails Conservancy.” He passed away in December 2006. At its meeting on March 2, 2007, The Ohio State University Board of Trustees approved a Resolution in Memoriam for him.

Married Cheryl.

Dr. Dan Fuller graduated from Purdue University (BS‘80) and The Ohio State University, College of Optometry (OD‘84). He served as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy, practicing in a hospital-based setting, until 1987. He received the Navy Commendation Medal for meritorious service. In 1987 he left active duty to join the faculty at the Southern College of Optometry, teaching in the Ocular Disease Service and holding didactic and laboratory assignments. He purchased his first private practice in 1991 and a second in 2001 emphasizing specialty contact lens fits and surgical co-management. He returned as a full-time faculty to The Eye Center at the Southern College of Optometry in 2008. He is now an associate professor; Chief of the Cornea Contact Lens Service; founding Supervisor of the Cornea Contact Lens Refractive Surgery Residency; and Faculty Chair. He has numerous publications to his credit, has lectured nationally, and continues to produce original clinical research. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and Scleral Lens Educators Society. He has three daughters, Morgan, Abigail and Claire, who are his greatest accomplishments. He writes, “There is not a day that has passed in my career where I have not thought of the optometric and life lessons learned while at the college. One of the greatest lessons learned is that no skill, no knowledge, and no accomplishment holds value if you do not pay it forward in service to others. Thank you for the opportunity to share a small part of this Buckeye’s journey.”

Dr. Michael Lyons was first introduced into eye care at the age of 7. He will never forget the first time he put on his first pair of myopic (and not so stylish) glasses prescribed by the local eye doctor. The immediate gratification of seeing the crispness of the leaves on the trees and clarity of the world around him has forever impacted the way he views his practice and the profession of eye care.

Dr. Lyons received his undergraduate education at Ohio University, obtaining a Bachelor of Science degree in 1997 in biology with a minor in art. He went on to study optometry at The Ohio State University College of Optometry, earning his Doctoral Degree in 2001. Following his graduation, he was accepted into the Ocular Disease Residency program at Cincinnati Eye Institute. From there, Dr. Lyons joined the Cincinnati Eye Institute’s Corneal, Refractive, and Uveitis Clinic.

After seven years at the Cincinnati Eye Institute, Dr. Lyons made the decision to expand his role in eye and vision care by opening Focal Pointe Eye Care, a modern, full-service optometric clinic with state-of-the-art equipment and eyewear boutique. His years of both personal and professional eye exams helped him design a facility that is welcoming to patients and their families.

Dr. Lyons is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and a member of the American Optometric Association and the Ohio Optometric Association. Dr. Lyons is also a full-time Volunteer Clinical Instructor in the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Cincinnati and head of the University Contact Lens Service. University of Cincinnati ophthalmology residents continue to receive hands-on training and education under his supervision at the Focal Pointe Eye Care clinic. Dr. Lyons enjoys focusing on contact lenses for therapeutic and cosmetic needs.

When Dr. Lyons is not practicing at Focal Pointe Eye Care or the Cincinnati Eye Institute, he provides low vision services at Cincinnati Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired. He has a special interest in this field since his wife suffers from a permanent visual impairment due to juvenile macular degeneration (Stargardt’s disease). Dr. Lyons gets daily inspiration from his wonderful family, including his wife Liz and their two children, Diegan and Eleanor.

Looking back on my admission to the optometry program at Ohio State reminds me how fortunate I was to choose both Ohio State and optometry. Because my grades and test scores were adequate, albeit not spectacular, it seems that I interviewed well, and the college took a chance on me. Thus the die was cast, creating the opportunity for a wonderful and fulfilling career.

Following my optometric training I was fortunate to enroll in the Master’s/Residency in Contact Lenses at Ohio State, which in turn cemented my interest in research and led to my first academic position at the Southern California College of Optometry. As well, that Master’s degree opened other doors, and I tell my current Master’s candidates that it will do the same for them.

The training I received at Ohio State was special, due to the long and storied history of the program and, especially, the culture of academic excellence. The college’s programs lay a solid theoretical foundation that allows development of graduates into top-notch clinicians and even academics, if they so choose. I am particularly grateful to my many mentors, among them Drs. Richard Hill, John Schoessler, William Brown, and Kevin Alexander. Moreover, I am proud of my classmates, Drs. Greg Stephens, Tom Quinn, Mark Smith, and Joe and Pat Benjamin for the many unique impacts they have had on academia and research in vision science and on the profession of optometry.

Mark W. Eger, OD, FAAO has been in private practice for 46 years in Coraopolis, PA. His practice has grown from the one his father Elmer founded in 1942, as a solo practitioner, to become The Eger Eye Group today with his son Noah, two other ODs, and an ophthalmologist. Dr. Eger became a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry in 1971 after encouragement by his father, and he is happy to say that his son is a Fellow as well. Dr. Eger served on the Board of Directors of the Academy for 14 years and served as president of the organization for two years. He now sees patients on a half-time basis, giving him more time to enjoy their five grandchildren with his wife, Susan.