Director of Education in Optical Services
Email: tbedgood@ico.edu
Phone: 312-949-7286
Why ICO?
Students should choose ICO to get an unparalleled level of optometric education. The faculty is committed to being innovative and fostering a lifelong appreciation of learning ocular science. Also, our students encounter a population of diverse patients with varying ocular needs.
Furthermore, ICO students consistently score above the national average on NBEO exams. Although the college admits a large number of students each year, there is still a strong sense of community amongst the students. Lastly, Chicago is the best city in the world!
Tahira Bedgood loves Chicago and has only left the city to pursue her undergraduate degree in Biology at Stanford University. While an undergrad, Mrs. Bedgood performed research in osteo-arthritis and age-related changes in the crystallins of the ocular lens. After graduation, she returned to her hometown to work with her mother who is an Optometrist at Vision Discovery. When the business caught fire, she knew that she needed a new career path. Consequently, Mrs. Bedgood started teaching in the Ophthalmic Technician program at Triton College. There, she taught Ocular Pharmacology, Ophthalmic Optics, Fields Testing and Ophthalmic Dispensing.
Eventually, Mrs. Bedgood joined the faculty of ICO in 2004. She began as the Educational Coordinator in Optical Services. Subsequently, being Ophthalmic Optics Laboratory Coordinator was added to her responsibilities. In 2011, she was promoted to Director of Education in Optical Services. Mrs. Bedgood can usually be found in the Eyewear Center supervising, educating and evaluating students.
1994 Stanford University, BS in Biological Sciences
1994-2002 Vision Discovery
2003-2008 Triton College
2004-Present Illinois College of Optometry
2009 Faculty Advisor to National Varilux Student Grant Winner Casey Bartz
2011 Faculty Advisor to National Varilux Student Grant Winner Laura Talianu
McMahon, J. and Bedgood, T. (2007, October) Student Perceptions of the Ophthalmic Optics Laboratory and Eyewear Center Dispensing Rotation at the Illinois College of Optometry. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Optometry in Tampa, Florida.
Cole, A., Boyd (Bedgood), T. et. al. (1993) “Type X Collagen Degradation in Long-Term Serum-Free Culture of the Embryonic Chick Tibia Following Production of Active Collagenase and Gelatinase”, Developmental Biology, Vol. 159, p.p. 528-534.