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.

Born in 1924, Caplan began his optometric career in 1950 in private practice in Baltimore, MD. During this time, he also served as a part-time consultant to the director of the Indian Health Service (HIS). His involvement and accomplishments in incorporating optometry into the IHS earned him the title "Father of Indian Health Service Optometry." 

At the age of 55, Caplan was looking for a change and decided to pursue his dream of entering academia. He said he was aided in that pursuit by contacts he had made with schools of optometry during his longtime optometry services recruitment work with the Indian Health Service. He received five offers and chose UAB.

Caplan joined the faculty of the UAB School of Optometry in 1979. In his associations at the School over the years, he served as chief of Contact Lens Services, assistant dean for Clinical Services, and director of the Externship Program—which he founded in the 1980s. He was presented with the Melvin Waxman Award for his long-term dedication to the profession of optometry. Though he retired from UABSO in 2002, he remained active in various areas of the School for many years.

Caplan stood out as an example of how the commitment and expertise of a researcher in a given area also could benefit the students taught by that researcher.  

He taught at UABSO when there were few soft contact lenses on the market. There would be students who would express gratitude to Caplan for drilling into them the basics of contact lenses. He had his students learn every single lens, its parameters, how much oxygen each allowed, and the water content of each.

During his optometric career, Caplan served as the senior consultant to the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry, consultant to the Clinic Directors/Administrators Special Interest Group (SIG), and the Externship Directors SIG. He also co-founded the Association of Clinic Directors of Schools and Colleges of Optometry. His awards include the Optometrist of the Year Award presented by the American Optometric Association, the Carel C. Koch Memorial Award, the Life Fellowship Award presented by the American Academy of Optometry and the Association of Optometric Contact Lens Educators' first Lifetime Achievement Award.

Caplan dedicated his career to advancing the optometric profession at all levels and will be remembered fondly as an excellent clinician, instructor, researcher, and public health advocate.

In honor of Dr. Caplan, please consider contributing to the Dr. Lester Caplan/CIBA Vision Corporation Endowed Scholarship. This fund continues the legacy of excellence in optometry that Dr. Caplan exemplified throughout his career while also allowing countless students to put aside financial concerns to focus on their educational and career goals. GIVE NOW

Excerpts of this memorial were taken from interviews conducted with Dr. Caplan by Anita Smith in 2012.