SUNY Annual Report 2019

Faculty and Staff Recognition Dr. Murray Fingeret: National Optometry Hall of Fame Inductee

Dr. William Folsom Dr. William “Bill” C. Folsom, Jr., a

longtime Optometric Center of New York (OCNY) trustee and former SUNY College of Optometry associate clinical professor, died on Thursday, May 2 in Cape Cod, MA. He was 98.

Dr. Murray Fingeret, SUNY Optometry clinical professor, was inducted into the

National Optometry Hall of Fame during Optometry’s Meeting in St. Louis in June. The honor highlights luminaries who have made a significant and long-lasting impact on the profession. Dr. Fingeret is the founder of the Optometric Glaucoma Society, which brings together influential figures from many fields to support glaucoma research. The National Optometry Hall of Fame selection process is determined by a committee consisting of representatives from the AAO, the AOA, the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry, the College of Optometrists in Vision Development, the National Optometric Association and Optometry Cares – The AOA Foundation. Among his many accolades, Dr. Fingeret was also the recipient of the Most Influential People in Optometry Award from Optometric Management in 2015. Christian Alberto Mr. Christian Alberto was promoted to the position of director of admissions and marketing. In this new role, he will be responsible for the overarching recruitment plan that is designed to bring the SUNY College of Optometry a highly qualified and diverse student body. Mr. Alberto began working at the College as a graduate intern in 2012. He is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Higher Education at the University of Pittsburgh.

Dr. Folsom’s association with the College began more than 50 years ago. He was on the staff of the OCNY when it was clinical and educational precursor to the College. When the SUNY College of Optometry was established in 1971 and the OCNY became its affiliated foundation, he served as a member of the board of trustees until his death. Dr. Folsom pledged his estate, then valued at $2M, to the College in 2010 as part of the College’s major gifts campaign, The Vision and the Promise. His gift will support student scholarships through the Scott T. Folsom Scholarship Fund. He and his wife, Patricia Fay Folsom, established the fund in recognition of their son following his tragic death at the age of 16 in 1975. “Over the past 20 years, 33 third-year students have received scholarships from the Scott Tasker Folsom Scholarship Endowment,” he said during a scholarship presentation in 2010. “I have great pride in helping these talented students as well as my profession.” Dr. Folsom was a fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and the National Academy of Opticianry. He was a member of the American Optometric Association and served as vice president of the New York State Optometric Association. He also received a commendation medal as a sergeant major in the United States Army in 1946. “I had the good fortune to spend a significant amount of time with Bill and grew to appreciate the remarkable career that he had and greatly admired his depth of commitment to the profession and to our college,” SUNY Optometry president David A. Heath said.

Erin Angarola Erin Angarola, bursar, was selected to be representative for the entire New York City region for the New York State Organization of Bursars and Business

Administrators. NYOBBA is a not-for-profit corporation organized to promote excellence and professionalism among its members in carrying out student-related business functions at institutions of higher education in New York State.

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