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Arkansas school considers adding optometry program
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The University of Central Arkansas announced that it plans to investigate the feasibility of opening an optometry school.
“Staying true to our mission of being a state leader in the health sciences, we are committed to exploring the possibility of providing a school of optometry,” University of Central Arkansas (UCA) President Tom Courtway, said in the announcement on the school’s website.
The university said it has hired a health care consulting group to analyze the “current and projected needs of optometrists in Arkansas and surrounding regions, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of developing a school of optometry at UCA.”
The feasibility study is scheduled to begin in March and be completed by the end of May.
“There is currently no optometry school in the state of Arkansas,” Steven W. Runge, PhD, executive vice president and provost, said in the announcement. “We are a state institution, and we serve the citizens of Arkansas. So, if we can correct that deficit in a sustained way that will provide educational opportunities for Arkansas students and enhance the medical services for all Arkansans, then that is what we want to do.”