Jerald Strickland, University of Houston interim senior vice president for academic affairs and provost, was recently presented the Dr. Jack Bennett Innovation in Education Award for his work on the Partnership Foundation for Optometric Education. The Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry presented the award to Strickland, who was the foundation’s first president.

“This award is humbling and a high-order honor for me, and it represents many years of work to establish and stabilize excellence funding for professional education and clinical training,” Strickland said. “The participating ‘partners’ represent all the schools and colleges of optometry in the United States, major ophthalmic equipment and materials manufacturers and all the national and regional professional organizations within the profession. In addition, the award has a personal dimension, it is named in memory of a former colleague and dean at Indiana University.”

Today, the foundation’s total assets exceed $1.5 million, which will be held in a growing endowment and eventually – in about 2020 - will be distributed to the 17 U.S. schools and colleges for modernization of physical plants, medical equipment and advanced technologies.

By Leticia Vasquez
Lvasque5@central.uh.edu