News from the AOA's Blog

The National Optometry Hall of Fame, administered by Optometry Cares, will welcome two new inductees into the elite group of optometrists at a meet-and-greet-style gathering held during Optometry’s Meeting® at the Salt Palace Convention Center Thursday, June 16 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.

This year’s inductees include: William R. Baldwin, O.D., Ph.D., Lester Caplan, O.D., and Gerald E. Lowther, O.D., Ph.D.

William R. Baldwin, O.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Baldwin

Dr. Baldwin is a 1951 graduate of Pacific University College of Optometry. He received four honorary degrees. Throughout his career he has served as dean of the Pacific University College of Optometry, President of the New England College of Optometry and Dean of the University of Houston College of Optometry. He also served on the board of the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry and as its president in 1974-1976.

Dr. Baldwin was a member of the small group of visionaries who participated in the famous, but then secretive, meeting at LaGuardia Airport in 1968 when the direction of the profession was dramatically changed.

Dr. Baldwin has chaired various committees within the American Academy of Optometry and the AOA.

Dr. Baldwin’s optometric leadership extended to trips to Africa to address the issues of river blindness. These experiences led to the establishment of the River Blindness Foundation for which he served as executive director and later chairman of the Board of Directors. Optometry gained greater credibility while Dr. Baldwin served this cause in his role.

Dr. Baldwin was also instrumental in forming an optometry school in Poland.

Lester Caplan, O.D.

Dr. Caplan

Dr. Caplan is a 1949 graduate of the former Northern Illinois College of Optometry, now Illinois College of Optometry. 

The first 30 years of Dr. Caplan’s career were spent in private practice in Baltimore, Md. During that time, he also served as a consultant to the director of the Indian Health Service. His involvement and accomplishments in incorporating optometry into the Indian Health Service earned him the title “Father of Indian Health Service Optometry.” The Lester Caplan Award was established in 2005 by the Indian Health Service to honor Dr. Caplan’s contributions.

Dr. Caplan transitioned from his life as a private practitioner to a recognized leader in academic optometry when he joined the faculty of the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Optometry in 1979.

Dr. Caplan co-founded the Association of Clinic Directors of Schools and Colleges of Optometry.  He has been active in organized optometry at the state and national levels. He was the 1975 recipient of the Optometrist of the Year Award presented by the AOA and the 1998 recipient of the Carel C. Koch Memorial Award and the Life Fellowship Award presented by the American Academy of Optometry.  He served as Vice President, USA, for the American Public Health Association in 1997-98.

The Association of Contact Lens Educators first Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Dr. Caplan in 2009.

Earlier this year, he was the recipient of the James A. Boucher Award of Excellence from by the National Academy of Practice in Optometry.

Dr. Caplan’s life has been devoted to ensuring the public receives the best care possible—be it “eye care” or the more encompassing “health care.”

Gerald E. Lowther, O.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Lowther

Dr. Lowther is a 1967 graduate of The Ohio State University College of Optometry. He spent a year in private practice before returning to OSU where he studied physiological optics and earned his PhD in 1972. He became a full-time faculty member and established a clinical research program in the area of contact lens use.

Dr. Lowther has also been on the faculty at Ferris State University College of Optometry, University of Alabama – Birmingham (UAB) School of Optometry and Indiana University (IU) School of Optometry. He served as associate dean at UAB and dean at IU. He developed a computer-controlled videodisk for contact lens education and a computer program to do contact lens calculations. His research program continued and he lectured nationally and internationally. 

Dr. Lowther was a member of the AOA Council on Research. He is a charter member and on the executive council of the International Society for Contact Lens Research.

He worked with the Karol Marcinkowski University of Medical Science to start the first optometry program in Poland.
 Dr. Lowther has also been instrumental in setting up community clinics in Bloomington, Indiana, Guanajuato, Mexico and an optometry program at the Ramkhamhaeng University in Bangkok, Thailand.

He has also served as the External Academic Advisor to the optometry program at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.