75th Anniversary of the College of Optometry

From 1945 to today, Pacific University's College of Optometry is celebrating 75 years of focusing on pupils.

1945 to 2020 | 75 Years of Focusing on Pupils

In honor of this important milestone, we're recognizing the contribution of its programs, faculty and alumni in the Fall 2020 issue of Pacific Magazine.

Discover how optometry came to Pacific and explore other eye-opening stories.

 

Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2020
women getting eyes screened
How Optometry Came to Pacific

The optometry program launched at Pacific in 1945 as a result of a combination of postwar challenges and unexpected opportunities. The needs of a small, temporarily shuttered optometry college in Northeast Portland helped meet the demands of a university that had limped through the war years. The outcome was the beginning of Pacific’s focus on the health professions.

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Wesley with Giant contact lens
He Was Driven Away, But Wesley Stuck With Pacific

The remarkable Newton Wesley ’39, Hon. ’86, born Newton Uyesugi to immigrant parents, was a founding father of the College of Optometry. Forced from his home by Japanese-American internment policy during World War II, Wesley nevertheless laid the foundation for the College of Optometry and became a giant in the field of contact lenses.

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jefferson hall exterior
Optometry through the Decades

We celebrate 75 years of Optometry at Pacific University with a look back through the years.

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exhibit from the Contact lens Museum showing colored lenses in a red velvet lined box
Pacific Optometry: The Year We Made Contacts

The earliest contact lenses were made of glass and could be worn only for a few hours at a time. Today’s contact lenses are engineering marvels, and Pacific’s College of Optometry is at the vanguard of contact lens research and design.

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Student conducting an eye exam
Taking it to the Streets: Vision Care on the Move

Pacific has built on a tradition of taking eye care to the community, where students and faculty provide real-world vision screening and treatment to underserved members of the community. The most visible symbol of this outreach is the Pacific EyeVan, an advanced mobile clinic that sees patients in church parking lots, migrant camps and schools.

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father holds his baby
Pediatric Eye Care Leads To Early Intervention For Children

When it comes to detecting problems with vision, it pays to start early, before brains are hardwired. In InfantSEE, a public health program in which Pacific participates, the patients may be as young as 6 months old.

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Asparagus Fritatta
Eating for Eye Health

Sandra (Coutts) Young ‘82, OD ‘84 created a business called Visionary Kitchen, which connects nutrition with eye health. She is the author of Visionary Kitchen: A Cookbook for Eye Health.

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Soccer Player kicks ball
Sports Vision Puts Focus on Fields

Within the field of optometry, sports vision has emerged as a fast-moving specialty. And within sports vision, Pacific is a leader.

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Eye Care Offers A Window To Athletes’ Concussions

DeAnn Fitzgerald ’81, OD ’84 of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has become well known for her focus on using optometry as a way to manage athletes’ concussions. She has developed protocols for young athletes who suffer head injuries, and her work has been widely shared and emulated around the country.

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Caring for Student-Athletes

At Pacific, caring for student-athletes is a community affair. Before any football players stepped onto Ledbetter Field for practices, they received care from dental hygiene and optometry students. 

 

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