| Press Releases |
Former Illinois College of Optometry President Selected as
2009 Inductee to National Optometry Hall of Fame
Dr. Charles Mullen Recognized for Contributions to the Profession
June 24, 2009 (CHICAGO) — Former Illinois College of Optometry (ICO) president Dr. Charles Mullen will be inducted into the National Optometry Hall of Fame in recognition of his many significant additions to the profession. Dr. Mullen will be inducted the evening of Friday, June 26, 2009, in Washington, D.C., at Optometry’s Meeting®, the annual meeting of the American Optometric Association.
“The ICO community is proud of Dr. Mullen and congratulates him on his deserved induction into the Optometry Hall of Fame,” said Dr. Arol Augsburger, president of ICO. “We’re pleased to see Dr. Mullen recognized for his longtime commitment and many advances to the eye care community.” Dr. Mullen served as president of ICO from 1996 to 2002.
Dr. Mullen will join 46 other individuals who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame since its inception. The mission of the Optometry Hall of Fame is to recognize distinguished men and women who have made exceptional and enduring lifetime contributions to the optometry profession.
Building institutions of quality education, forming national healthcare policy and strengthening urban communities through quality optometric and ophthalmic care are a few of Dr. Mullen’s notable contributions to the optometry profession.
Dr. Mullen has planned and redesigned the profession for the past 40 years. From 1970 to 1976, he worked in the president’s office at The New England College of Optometry as special assistant for clinical development. Dr. Mullen next went on to serve as executive director of the Eye Institute at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry from 1976 to 1990. He then became the director of the Optometry Service for the Department of Veteran Affairs in Washington, D.C. from 1990 to 1996, until he became president of the Illinois College of Optometry.
An instrumental figure in moving optometry to the forefront of primary eye care, Dr. Mullen understood that optometry and ophthalmology were complementary and worked to extend care to underserved populations.
“ICO remains grateful to Dr. Mullen for his leadership and for helping to make ICO the thriving, well-respected institution that it is today,” said Dr. Augsburger. “Very few people receive this honor and we all share in congratulating Dr. Mullen.”
About the Illinois College of Optometry
The Illinois College of Optometry (ICO) provides excellence in optometric clinical education and is one of the world’s leading urban optometric institutions. Since its founding in 1872 by Dr. Henry Olin, ICO has offered aspiring optometrists the education and experience needed to meet the challenges of a changing health care environment and become leaders who will advocate for patients and the profession alike. Located in Chicago, ICO has a long and distinguished legacy as the oldest continually operating educational facility in the world dedicated solely to the teaching of optometrists. For more information about the Illinois College of Optometry, visit www.ico.edu.
