Dr. Glen Steele, Southern College of Optometry Professor, has been named to the Tennessee Independent Colleges and Universities Association Hall of Fame. TICUA and its member institutions selected 24 alumni, highlighting their contributions to the state, country, and world in a variety of disciplines. Dr. Steele is a 1969 SCO alumnus.
“Southern College of Optometry is very proud that TICUA has selected Dr. Glen Steele for its Hall of Fame,” SCO President Dr. Lewis Reich said. “For more than 50 years, Dr. Steele has distinguished himself through his teaching and sharing his pediatric optometry expertise with patients and colleagues around the globe.
The longest-serving faculty member in SCO’s history, Dr. Steele is now in his 52nd year at SCO. For more than 40 years, he also owned and operated his own private practice. His success in pediatric optometry has made him one of the nation’s leading experts on the subject. Through his role as one of the co-founders of the InfantSEE program, more than 140,000 children have received no-cost eye assessments to infants in their first year of life.
Dr. Steele is credited for advancing infant eye exams through his development of “just look retinoscopy,” a now-common procedure in optometry practices by which doctors gauge visual development in children who otherwise cannot articulate how well they see.
In addition to making a difference in the lives of pediatric patients and mentoring thousands of eye doctors, Dr. Steele has also devoted volunteer service through the years to numerous programs, including the American Academy for Human Development, the Memphis Association for Children with Learning Disabilities, the American Foundation for Vision Awareness, and the Tennessee Special Olympics, among others.
His leadership roles include serving as President of the College of Optometrists in Vision Development, President of the Optometric Extension Program Foundation, Chair of the InfantSEE program, an International Ambassador for the Southern Educational Congress of Optometry International, on the World Council of Optometry’s Education Committee, and as Chair of the Vision Care Section for the American Public Health Association.
Among his notable other awards, Dr. Steele was inducted into the American Optometric Association’s Optometry Hall of Fame. He received the President’s Award from the AOA and the American Foundation for Vision Awareness, the Optometrist of the Year from the Tennessee Association of Optometric Physicians, the Lifetime of Service Award from Prevent Blindness Tennessee, the William Feinbloom Award from the American Academy of Optometry, the G.N. Getman Award from the College of Optometrists in Vision Development, SCO’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Top 10 Optometrists of the Decade distinction by Optometric Management magazine, among many others.
“We launched the TICUA Hall of Fame last year to honor the accomplishments and impact of graduates and the institutions who helped to prepare them,” said TICUA President Dr. Claude Pressnell. “We are proud to once again recognize an astounding group of alumni who have made significant contributions to their institutions, communities, and society. Their stories are worthy of recognition and accolade and, on behalf of our member institutions, we are proud to offer this small token of our appreciation for their achievements.”