Optometry Hall of Fame receives three new inductees

SALT LAKE CITY — The National Optometry Hall of Fame, administered by Optometry Cares, the AOA Foundation, welcomed three new inductees into the elite group of 53 optometrists at a ceremony held during this year's Optometry's Meeting.

The 2011 inductees are William R. Baldwin, OD PhD; Lester Caplan, OD, MEd; and Gerald E. Lowther, OD, PhD.

Dr. Baldwin served as dean of the Pacific University College of Optometry, president of the New England College of Optometry and dean of the University of Houston College of Optometry. He was also president of the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry.

He was one of a small group of visionaries to participate in the meeting at LaGuardia in 1968, which altered the direction of optometry. After several trips to Africa, he established the River Blindness Foundation for which he served as executive director and, later, chairman of the board of directors.

The first 30 years of Dr. Caplan's career were spent in private practice in Baltimore. His involvement and accomplishments in incorporating optometry into the Indian Health Service earned him the title "Father of Indian Health Service Optometry." He cofounded the Association of Clinic Directors of Schools and Colleges of Optometry. Throughout his career he has received numerous national-level awards. He also served as vice president for the American Public Health Association.

As a faculty member at the Ohio State University College of Optometry, Dr. Lowther established a clinical research program in the area of contact lens use. He was associate dean at the University of Alabama Birmingham School of Optometry and dean at the Indiana University School of Optometry.

Dr. Lowther also helped found the first optometry program in Poland and at the Ramkhamhaeng University in Bangkok, Thailand. He has also served as the External Academic Advisor to the optometry program at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.