Director of Publications

William E. Cochran, OD To Be Named
Southern College of Optometry President Emeritus

MEMPHIS, Tennessee (July 13, 2007) – The Southern College of Optometry (SCO) Board of Trustees has unanimously agreed to bestow the title, “President Emeritus,” on Dr. William E. Cochran, the institution’s recently retired president.

SCO President Richard W. Phillips, Dr. Cochran’s successor, recently made the announcement at the college’s 75^th Anniversary Reception in Boston. The title will formally be conferred upon Dr. Cochran at the college’s Convocation ceremony to be held at 3 p.m. on Friday, October 5 at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis.

“After years of dedication to the mission of this institution, I don’t believe anyone doubted that Dr. Cochran’s support of the institution would continue, and that his contributions to our mission were not ended,” President Phillips said. “This action recognizes that Dr. Cochran will continue to be am ambassador of goodwill for SCO, and he will participate in official functions of the college.”

Dr. Cochran retired in May 2007 after 24 years of service to the college. Named president of SCO in 1983, Dr. Cochran was inaugurated a year later as the fifth president to lead the college since its founding in Memphis in 1932.

The Doctor of Ocular Science honorary degree was conferred upon Dr. Cochran the evening prior to his retirement. Also upon his retirement, the Tennessee Legislature honored him with a joint resolution signed by Governor Bredesen, he received the Memphis Rotary Club’s Rotarian of the Year Award, and Shelby County Mayor A C Wharton proclaimed “Dr. William E. Cochran Day” in Shelby County, Tennessee.

In addition to serving as President Emeritus, Dr. Cochran also recently joined the Board of Directors of arGentis Pharmaceuticals, LLC, a Memphis-based specialty pharmaceutical company. The company licenses and markets therapies for chronic diseases with demonstrate proof of concept for further development and commercialization.

Celebrating its 75^th anniversary in 2007, Southern College of Optometry was established in Memphis, Tennessee in 1932. SCO is an independent, not-for-profit institution of higher education with a mission to educate men and women in the art and science of optometry.

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