After leading the UAB School of Optometry through its accreditation process for the second time, Roderick Fullard, BScOptom, Ph.D., associate professor, was awarded the Dean’s Distinguished Service Award.

He was presented the award, which recognizes exemplary leadership and service, at the School of Optometry's 44th Annual Convocation and Hooding Ceremony, held May 12 at the Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center on the UAB Campus.

Caroline Beesley Pate, O.D., is the 2017 recipient of the UAB President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching for the School of Optometry.

Pate, an associate professor of Optometry and director of the School’s Residency Programs, was chosen for the award by the School’s awards committee, which is chaired by Candice Turner, O.D., clinical assistant professor of Optometry.

The American Optometric Association has named Dr. Elizabeth Steele, Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs at the UAB School of Optometry, its Optometric Educator of the Year.

Steele will be honored as the recipient of the 2017 Optometric Educator Award for her “outstanding service on behalf of the profession, optometric education and the visual welfare of the public,” according to the AOA, which is recognized as one of the leading authorities in optometry.

The award will be presented at a ceremony on June 21 in Washington D.C. at the AOA’s 2017 Optometry’s Meeting.

Dr. Henry B. Peters, the first dean and faculty member of the UAB School of Optometry, has been posthumously inducted as the first optometrist into the Alabama Healthcare Hall of Fame.

A native of Oakland, California, Dr. Peters was working in private practice optometry with his father following his service with the United States Navy during World War II. While in private practice, Dr. Peters became active in optometric education and research and served on the faculty of the University of California, Berkeley in both the School of Optometry and School of Public Health.

Dr. Timothy Kraft has been named the first Chair of the School of Optometry’s Department of Optometry and Vision Science.

UABSO congratulates two long-standing faculty members, Dr. Joe Fleming and Dr. Leo Semes, on their retirements. Their commitment and contributions to the School have been tremendous, and we wish them the very best.

The UAB School of Optometry proudly recognizes Dr. Wendy Marsh-Tootle as the 2015 recipient of the American Academy of Optometry’s William Feinbloom Award.

Established in 1983, this award is presented to an individual who has made both distinguished and significant contributions to clinical excellence, and to the direct clinical advancement of visual and optometric service.