SCHOLARSHIP TO ATTRACT ‘TOP STUDENTS
’FOR OPTOMETRY
Distinguished UH Alumna Desiree Hopping Named Most Recent Recipient
of Honor
HOUSTON, Nov. 30, 2004 – A four-year scholarship designed
to attract top-notch students for optometry with high-caliber research
and leadership potential recently was created in honor of Desiree
T. Hopping, O.D., a University of Houston College of Optometry alumna.
The Foundation for Education and Research in Vision (FERV), the
support organization for the UH College of Optometry (UHCO), awarded
Hopping, a 1981 UH alum and outgoing president of FERV, a Presidential
Endowed Scholarship in her name. The first Dr. Desiree T. Hopping
Presidential Endowed Scholarship will be given next fall. The award
is aimed at entering freshmen or first-year professional students
based on their outstanding academic achievements in combination
with their leadership in school or community activities. The scholarship
is renewable for eight semesters as long as the student continues
to meet eligibility requirements.
Established in 1955, FERV works at improving the quality of life
for others through promoting education in the field of vision, as
well as releasing pertinent information to the public concerning
vision needs and care. The organization also seeks to encourage
and foster the study of human vision and related fields by providing
resources for student scholarships and loans, research and state-of-the-art
equipment. FERV functions as the non-profit support foundation of
UHCO, helping generate and manage funds for optometric study.
“FERV is critical to the growth of optometry in Texas by
recruiting top students to be the best possible optometrists and
conduct top research,” Hopping said. “Without FERV,
the UH College of Optometry would rely only on state funding, which
would inhibit its ability to keep up with the growth of the profession.
I’ve been committed to UHCO and have worked hard for its support
organization by getting others involved in FERV and creating good
will.”
Involved with FERV for the past 20 years, Hopping held the presidency
for 12 years and presently serves as the organization’s treasurer.
Her past accomplishments also include efforts to increase scholarship
awards available to optometry students, as well as receiving the
UH Distinguished Optometry Alumna Award for her service to the college,
profession and her local community.
Hopping currently specializes in family and children’s vision
with emphasis on learning disabilities in an optometric practice
in Clear Lake, Texas, where she resides with her husband, Ron Hopping,
O.D., a fellow optometrist, and her two sons. Before graduating
from UH with her doctorate in optometry, she received her bachelor’s
degree in biology from Rice University and graduated from Bishop
Thomas K. Gorman Catholic School in Tyler, Texas.
“UH has given me my whole career and expert training in my
profession,” Hopping said. “I appreciate and love my
profession because it allows me to help people, especially children.
It is a very gratifying and rewarding profession, and I encourage
anyone interested in people to pursue optometry.”
About the University of Houston
The University of Houston, Texas’ premier metropolitan research
and teaching institution, is home to more than 40 research centers
and institutes and sponsors more than 300 partnerships with corporate,
civic and governmental entities. UH, the most diverse research university
in the country, stands at the forefront of education, research and
service with more than 35,000 students.
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