2021-Annual-Report

OUR MISSION, VALUES, AND STRATEGIC PLAN

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

2018–2023 Strategic Plan: Care • Lead • Advance

Student-Centered Experience

Enhance the student experience through programs that promote student and alumni success

Positively impacting our profession, our community, and social justice for 50 years

Academic Excellence Deliver a dynamic curriculum that engages students and advances contemporary optometry Grow the graduate and research programs to increase the institutional impact on the advancement of knowledge and produce leaders in vision research

Service to Our Patients and Community

Deliver unparalleled care to our University Eye Center patients Provide service to the greater community

We also strengthened our commitment to address critical issues of division, disparities, and injustice for people of color and other underrepresented groups on campus and within the profession. This has remained central to our planning processes and at the forefront of our programs, touching every area throughout the College. As we look to the next 50 years, we’ll remain steadfast in this endeavor with a goal of leading the way among all colleges and schools of optometry as well as within the profession. Entering 2022 we continue with a sense of gratitude for our dynamic and dedicated community and optimism for the continued growth of our educational, research, and patient care programs. It is with the care and investment from everyone that our success remains possible. Thank you for being a part of our history and our future.

Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of SUNY College of Optometry amidst continued concerns about the global pandemic and societal inequities certainly presented a challenge and left this exciting milestone understated. However, as you’ll read in the 2021 Annual Report, the College has continued to adapt, persevere, come together as a community and, indeed, thrive. Of the many moments of pride during the past year, seeing the community find ways to return to in-person learning, research, and patient care as well as some selected social activities while prioritizing the health and safety of our entire community was among one of the most notable. Our infection rate remained low with very few instances of on-campus transmission of COVID-19. Our students, faculty, and staff are all vaccinated with many having already received boosters. Mask-wearing, especially throughout the clinics and classrooms, remains at an all time high. It is because of this diligence that we were able to begin our return to in-person extracurricular activities with things like the Student Council Halloween Party, the Reception at Academy, Envision, and VisioNYC.

Student Success

Community and People Cultivate institutional culture that encourages a sense of community, inclusion, institutional pride, collective purpose, and shared responsibility Promote the growth and development of all members of the College community

Effective Foundational Support Attract the brightest and most motivated students with demonstrated leadership potential Provide the financial foundation, administrative support, and environment to achieve the College’s mission

David A. Heath, OD, EdM President

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