Director of Publications

Southern College of Optometry Honors Nancy Gatlin

Upon Her Retirement

MEMPHIS, Tennessee (February 22, 2008) – Nancy Gatlin, SCO’s longest-serving staff member, recently retired after serving the college for nearly 40 years.

She joined the SCO family in 1968 as a library clerk and was named library director in 1976. As Dr. Phillips noted about her retirement, “The fifth floor will just not be the same without her.”

Nancy’s sense of humor can be seen in her parting words to her colleagues: “Party on.”

For someone modest about her accomplishments – her longevity, her devotion and her development of the VISIONET indexing database – Nancy leaves with the admiration of her colleagues.

In their words:

Rosemary Gordon, Assistant Director of the Library: “It hardly seems possible that Nancy and I worked together for 22 years… Her focus has consistently been on managing the library’s resources to provide the most benefit to students, faculty, research and practitioners, ultimately benefitting the patients. She will be missed by colleagues both locally and throughout the country.”

Craig Fleming ’10, library student worker: “She knew a lot about optometry [because] she has been reading the ophthalmic/optometric literature for a long time. She gave me some great advice and talked about successful optometrists that she knew, and she gave me some of their secrets. She could always tell when I was stressed and took the time to ask me how the studying was going and then reassured me that everything would be alright.”

Dr. Jim Newman: “From my student years, which began in 1969, until now, Nancy has been consistent in helping me out in endeavors for which I needed her assistance. She has always given her personal attention to get the job done.”

Dr. Glen Steele: “Nancy has always been one of the most helpful people at SCO. If she cannot immediately put her hands on an article, she can get it quickly. She has more contacts than most of us hope for, and she really knows the optometric profession.”

And from Pat McCollum, who now inherits the title as the college’s longest-employed staff member: “I have found her to be an honest, hard-working person, always willing to help out when you need her not only in the library but other areas of the college. I wish her the best in her retirement. She has been a valuable asset to the college.”

Nancy will continue to serve in a part-time role as she indexes material for the VISIONET database. She plans to move to the country and enjoy gardening as a hobby.

Established in Memphis, Tennessee in 1932, Southern College of Optometry 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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