Fresh from active Navy duty in Southeast Asia, I earned my Masters and PhD degrees at Ohio State in 1971 and then joined the faculty of the newly established State University of New York (SUNY) College of Optometry as its first full-time faculty member. After 20 years at SUNY, where I also served as assistant dean and director of graduate studies, I moved to the Michigan College of Optometry at Ferris State University as dean in 1990; several other alumni of the OSU graduate program were also on the faculty there. In 1999 I became the president of the New England College of Optometry (my OD ’65 degree alma mater) and retired from there in 2007. My research activities focused primarily on the interactions between the visual environment and human performance, which also led to international involvement in technical committees of CIE. In 2005-2006, I served as president of the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (somewhat unusual for an optometrist) during its centennial year and currently am serving a second term as president of the United States National Committee of CIE. I remain active in research with funded projects at NECO and Virginia Tech and continue to serve several professional societies. The multi-disciplinary nature of the Ohio State graduate program has served me well and made my career both interesting and rewarding. I treasure the unique opportunity to have studied under the guidance of such luminaries as Professors Glenn Fry and Carl Ingling, who so importantly influenced my career. I can imagine no better educational experience.

Dr. Jim King was recognized by the South Dakota Optometric Society with its Distinguished Service Award, only the fourth person ever to receive the award. Clearly, people who receive these kinds of awards are leaders in our profession, but Dr. King’s breadth and depth of service to the profession was unique and inspiring. He has served as an Army optometry officer, been in private practice in South Dakota since 1958, was on the forefront of diagnostic and therapeutic privileges for South Dakota, served as President of the South Dakota Optometric Society, is a charter member and Fellow of the College of Optometrists in Vision Development, chaired a local vision screening day for elementary school students for over 40 years, served as editor of the Focal Point newsletter for the South Dakota Optometric Society for 13 years, lectured extensively on children’s vision issues, won five national awards in the Optometric Editors’ Association International Journalism Contests, and helped form the South Dakota Association for Children with Learning Disabilities.

These were substantial accomplishments on their own, but Dr. King’s uniqueness was really highlighted by two other areas of accomplishment that go well beyond the traditional list of accomplishments used for folks receiving these kinds of awards. First, Dr. King was the “K” of the MKM Reading Systems and the MKM Monocular and Binocular Reading Test. As a child, he experienced many vision and reading problems personally. He remembered having problems keeping print in focus, reading in front of a group, and remembering how to spell words from one day to the next. Finally, in the sixth grade, with the help of his family optometrist, Dr. Stewart Kirkpatrick (BS’26), and a stereoscope, he experienced stereopsis for the first time. Perhaps those memories were the impetus for his research into the area of visual memory and reading. In the early 1960s, he was the primary author and developer of the MKM Reading Systems. Over 5,000 hours behind a portable Smith-Corona typewriter and the input of Dr. Leland Michael and assistant Arlene Moorhead resulted in methods of detecting, remediating, and sometimes preventing learning-related visual problems.

Second, his hobby of magic took him to places few optometrists have been. His father was a dentist and was the kind of guy who enjoyed practical jokes: joy buzzers, whoopee cushions, and the like. That influence and visits to the Palmer House Magic Shop in Chicago guided Dr. King to learn about magic, which had been his hobby since prior to his first magic show in the seventh grade. The hobby allowed him to meet all sorts of people, including Las Vegas showmen Siegfried and Roy. The manual dexterity of his left hand and a substantial amount of perseverance netted him an appearance with Johnny Carson on “The Tonight Show” in 1985. Dr. King was able to move four pennies from the fingers of his left hand and stack all four on his thumb, using just his left hand. Additionally, he could contort his fingers in ways that defied reason and move the tendons on his hand as if they were the keys on a piano. He was a loyal Buckeye fan who rarely missed an alumni weekend with his wife, Margaret, and school chums Drs. Lowell Hone (BS‘55), Dick Ball (BS‘55), Will Stamp (BS‘55) and Don Lewis (BS‘54). Dr. King passed away in April of 2012.

Following his graduation from what was then the School of Optometry in 1937, Dr. Herschel A. Rubin returned to his hometown of East Liverpool, Ohio, and opened his practice in the rear of the jewelry store owned by his father, Leon Rubin. The next year, he married Elsa Alexander (OSU Class of 1938), whom he met at Ohio State. Dr. Rubin served in the Army Air Corps in California during World War II and then returned to East Liverpool, where he practiced until his retirement in 1985.

He was active in the community as a member of the East Liverpool Jaycees and Rotary Club, served several terms as a member of the city’s Board of Health, and spent many years as a Boy Scout leader. Following retirement, he kept up his office as a home for his model trains, which now fill the space once occupied by his optometric equipment and fitting room. Dr. Rubin continues to be a fixture in the community, where he frequently encounters former patients who happily tell him, “You made my first pair of glasses!”

Dr. Rubin and the late Elsa Rubin had two children. Elsa Rubin Efran (OSU Class of 1963) lives in Philadelphia with her husband, Dr. Jay S. Efran (OSU PhD 1963). Leon M. Rubin (OSU Classes of 1977, 1987) and his wife, Suzi Rubin, live in Dahlonega, Ga. Dr. Rubin has four grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Dr. LaMar Zigler is a graduate of The Ohio State University, where he completed his OD and MS degrees simultaneously in 1981. He chaired the Contact Lens Committee of the Ohio Optometric Association from 1987 to 1990, which featured the annual Contact Lens Education Meeting in Columbus every January. He helped develop the EastWest Eye Conference in 1994 and chaired the meeting until 1996. He then chaired the Education Committee of EastWest from 2003 to 2005. He currently serves as chair of the contact lens track and round table discussions for the EastWest CE committee.

He was a member of the American Optometric Association’s (AOA) Continuing Education committee from 2008 to 2010. He chaired the AOA Contact Lens and Cornea Section in 2011-2012. He is a fellow of The American Academy of Optometry. He has been a faculty member of The Ohio State University College of Optometry since 1981, teaching in the clinics as well as serving as a preceptor for the primary care extern program since its inception.

He has two private practices in Columbus, Ohio with his nephew, Travis (OD’10), his nephew’s wife, Jenna (OD’11), and his youngest son, David (OD’14) all Ohio State Optometry Graduates. He has been the Principal Investigator on 136 FDA clinical trials and has served on advisory boards and speakers bureaus for many manufacturers. He lectures nationally on contact lenses, sports vision, primary care, refractive surgery, and practice management.

He was honored with the distinguished service award from the Ohio Optometric Association in 1999 for his work on EastWest. He was inducted into the National Academies of Practice for distinguished practitioners in 2004. He has enjoyed mentoring over 200 optometry student employees, pre-optometry students, and externs in his 32 years of private practice. He is a proud life member of both the Ohio State University Alumni Association and Optometry Alumni & Friends.

Dr. Joseph B. Studebaker is a 1981 graduate of Northmont High School. He completed undergraduate studies at The Ohio State University in 1983. In 1987 he received his Doctorate in Optometry (OD) from Ohio State as a Beta Sigma Kappa honor student. He has over two decades of experience in clinical eye health and vision care. Dr. Studebaker served as President of the Ohio Optometric Association (OOA) in 2003. He is a Clinical Associate Professor at and Extern Preceptor for The Ohio State University College of Optometry as well as a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry. Dr. Studebaker is a Diplomate of the National Board of Examiners in Optometry and currently serves as a Clinical Examiner for the Board. He served as a member of the Communications Group for the American Optometric Association (AOA) and as a State of Ohio motorist vision examiner for the Ohio State Highway Patrol, Bureau of Motor Vehicles for the past two decades. Dr. Studebaker is a member of the AOA, the OOA, and the Miami Valley Society of Optometrists. He is a member of the American Public Health Association and the Contact Lens and Cornea Section of the AOA.

Dr. Studebaker is widely published in the eye care literature and has edited, authored, or co-authored over 30 articles on a broad range of topics including ocular disease, ocular pharmacology, optometry, practice management, managed care and contact lens management. He lectures nationally on contact lens management and related topics. He also lectures at The Ohio State University College of Optometry on ocular pharmacology, eye disease management, glaucoma, and ocular imaging technologies including spectral domain optical coherence tomography. Dr. Studebaker has conducted numerous clinical investigational studies for several ophthalmic and contact lens manufacturers, including investigational studies for the United States Food and Drug Administration. He received the Annual Writer’s Award from Optometric Management in 1996. Also in that year, Dr. Studebaker received the Outstanding Service Award from the OOA. He received this award from the Association for a second time in 2005 and, in 2008, was presented the OOA’s Warren G. and Ruth P. Morris Ohio Optometrist of the Year Award in recognition of his outstanding contributions to optometry and public service. Dr. Studebaker is an active amateur astronomer and astrophotographer. He also enjoys bicycling, hiking, computers/electronics, acoustic guitar, and digital photography.

Dr. Raies practices optometry with his wife, Dr. Kelly (nee Carson) Raies, in Portsmouth, Ohio. The practice was founded by Kelly’s father, Dr. Raymond Carson. Dr. Raies is a member of the Ohio Optometric Association (OOA) and the American Optometric Association. He is past zone governor for the OOA. He is also a member of Vision Source, a national association of private practice optometrists.

Dr. Raies has a variety of hobbies. He has performed in the Southern Ohio Light Opera and the Portsmouth Little Theater, and has performed in and co-directed the Red Stockings Revue, a local variety show in Portsmouth. He is an avid runner, has completed the New York City Marathon two times, and still competes in 5K runs regularly. His favorite hobby is managing and performing in the band BAD HABITS, “The EyeDocs of Rock”. This five-piece classic rock band, four of which are fellow optometrists, has been performing since 1987. They have performed annually for the EastWest Eye Conference at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio since 1999, as well as many optometric conventions around the United States since 2001.

Dr. Raies is an elder and chancel choir member at Second Presbyterian Church, and is active in various charitable organizations and events locally. He and his wife, Kelly, have three daughters, Sarah, Allison, and Anne Marie.

He writes, “Music has always been a big part of my life. When I decided to attend The Ohio State University College of Optometry, I never dreamed that choosing a career as an optometrist would also give me the opportunity to pursue my interest as a musician as well. I feel truly blessed to be in a career that I love, which has also helped enhance a hobby that I love!”

I was greatly and pleasantly surprised to find that I was selected to be a “notable alumnus”. I was surprised because, after all, why would I be honored for simply enjoying my career, especially since the honor belongs to countless others who made my gratifying career in optometry possible? I have always been fond of saying, “If you like what you do, you never have to go to work.” So, in this short blurb, I would like to turn the recognition around and honor those who paved the way for me to experience or touch on almost every aspect in the optometric profession and in the universe of people known as The Ohio State University. Beginning with my optometrist grandfather, whose kindness inspired me to be “just like him,” to all those along the way who provided guidance, teaching, mentoring , advise, counsel, influence, support, and prayer and ending with my family and my beloved Jane who provides all the love and encouragement I will ever need, I give my heartfelt appreciation and gratefulness.

In the past 50 years I have witnessed the most amazing changes and growth in our profession and in Ohio State. What a privilege! I personally have been a learner, a teacher, a researcher, a provider of patient care, a participant in professional and academic organizations, a recruiter, an accreditor, and an administrator. What a privilege! The people I have known via the College of Optometry (students, staff, colleagues, practitioners, lab reps, donors, and patients) are the best ever. What a privilege! I have been retired from the College of Optometry and from the profession for over ten years now, and I must tell you that I do have a “second career” which began long before my career in optometry ended. Jane and I are active in church ministry and leadership. Because of the redeeming grace in both of our lives, we have a special passion for marriages and devote time and energy to marriage ministry in particular.

Thanks to the College of Optometry for this 100th Anniversary honor. However my honor and reward will truly come if I have ever been a part of raising up another to love well and serve well. Actually, I do have another career in the offing. Since we were created for “forever” and since I have passed my allotted “threescore and ten,” I am looking toward the time when I will finish my life journey here and take my place The Eternal Kingdom. Thanks for the memories.

My experience at Ohio State created a platform for me to have a wonderful practice but also a great experience as an optometrist. Community involvement started very early in my career, joining the practice of Dr. Jack Keith, who encouraged me to get involved with my community. I had the privilege of chairing the 1991 NEC World Series of Golf at Firestone Country Club in Akron overseeing 1000 volunteers and raising almost a million dollars for the Akron community. I also served as President of the Fairlawn Kiwanis and Fairlawn Chamber of Commerce in 1986 and was named Fairlawn’s Citizen of the Year in 1988.

I am very proud of my professional accomplishments as well. Early in my career, I became Zone 3 Governor, continuing through many Ohio Optometric Association (OOA) committees and serving as President of the OOA in 1995. I was named the Warren G. and Ruth P. Morris Optometrist of the Year in 1997. I also have served the profession nationally as chairman of the American Optometric Association (AOA) Professional Relations Committee, as well as chairing two AOA Nominating Committees. I have been on the Association of Regulatory Boards of Optometry’s COPE Committee for the past 12 years, chairing the committee six years ago and continue to be a consultant to the COPE committee. I am also most proud of serving on the Ohio State Board of Optometry for 10 years.

I thank The Ohio State University College of Optometry for giving me the education to represent myself, as well as my profession, proudly throughout my career in optometry.

David A. Berntsen, OD, PhD, FAAO completed his Doctor of Optometry degree in 2002 at the University of Houston College of Optometry (UHCO). He completed a Cornea and Contact Lens Advanced Practice Fellowship (2004) and a PhD in Vision Science (2009) at The Ohio State University College of Optometry. During his studies, he was a two-time recipient of an American Optometric Foundation William C. Ezell Fellowship. His research interests include juvenile-onset myopia, contact lenses, and optical aberrations of the eye. Notably, Dr. Berntsen conducted the Study of Theories about Myopia Progression (STAMP), a two-year clinical trial evaluating theories of juvenile-onset myopia progression, which found evidence for an association between peripheral myopic defocus and slowed myopia progression in children. He has also conducted multiple adult and pediatric studies involving contact lenses and higher-order aberrations of the eye.

In 2010, Dr. Berntsen joined the UHCO faculty as an Assistant Professor, and his laboratory there continues to investigate juvenile-onset myopia and contact lenses. Dr. Berntsen teaches in both the professional and graduate programs and has mentored several NEI-supported professional students interested in a research career. He also volunteers as the UHCO faculty-student liaison to the American Academy of Optometry and as the advisor for the UHCO student chapter of the American Academy of Optometry. Dr. Berntsen lives in Houston, TX with his wife Monique (an OSU College of Nursing alumna) and their two children (Ella and Reed).

Dr. Thomas Quinn received his OD degree in 1979 and his MS degree in 1981 from The Ohio State University College of Optometry. Tom’s MS degree was earned while completing Ohio State’s Cornea and Contact Lens residency under the guidance of Dr. John Schoessler. Tom and Dr. Jerry Paugh were privileged to be only the third “class” of residents to graduate from this one-of-a-kind program. He became a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry in 1982 and then became a Diplomate in the Academy’s Section on Cornea, Contact Lens and Refractive Technologies in 1991. He was a full-time faculty member at Ohio State from 1981-83 then a part-time clinical instructor at the college from 1986 to 1993. He currently has a faculty appointment as a Clinical Assistant Professor at The Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Tom practices in Athens with his wife, Dr. Susan Quinn (OD’82), Dr. Shane Foster (OD’08) , and Dr. Robyn Stout Sargent (OD’99). He enjoys serving as principal investigator for numerous studies exploring the performance of contact lenses and contact lens related products.

Tom is a member of the American Optometric Association (AOA), and is currently Chair of the AOA’s Contact Lens and Cornea Council. He has served the Ohio Optometric Association as chair of various committees, including currently serving as chair of The EastWest Eye Conference. Dr. Quinn also serves on the Advisory Board of the Rigid Gas Permeable Lens Institute and was honored with its national 2001 RGP Lens “Practitioner of the Year” Award. He is a contributing editor for Contact Lens Spectrum, the nation’s leading contact lens magazine and for over 30 years has enjoyed speaking in the areas of contact lenses and corneal physiology.

Tom enjoys traveling with his wife and partner, Susan, and takes special delight in spending time with son Brian (Chicago) and daughter Katie (New York City).

Tom also enjoys the stage and has performed in a number of well-known musicals, including The Wizard of Oz (Tinman), The Sound of Music (Captain von Trapp), and Harold Hill in both the 1996 and 2007 Ohio Valley Summer Theater productions of The Music Man. He most recently performed the role of Mr. Fezziwig in the Brick Monkey Theater Ensemble’s production of Appalachian Christmas Carol, which is performed each December at Nelsonville, Ohio’s historic Stuart’s Opera House.

Finally, Tom is a member of the classic rock (1954-1964) band Remember Then. In addition to performing across the state of Ohio, Remember Then will again be the opening act at the EastWest Eye Conference Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Party on October 10, 2014. He invites everyone to come share in the fun. Bring your dancing shoes!