ASCO Announces 2025 Special Recognition Award Recipients; Dr. John Flanagan Receives Lifetime Achievement Award

The Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO) announces the recipients of the 2025 Special Recognition Awards. 

“We are very pleased to honor the 2025 Special Recognition Award winners,” says Dr. Fraser Horn, ASCO President. “All the recipients are extraordinary people who have contributed in exceptional ways to the field and the future of optometry. We were happy to recognize the recipients during our 2025 Annual Business Meeting.” 

ASCO Lifetime Achievement Award
Dr. John Flanagan is this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award recipient. The ASCO Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes an outstanding individual who, over an extended period of time, provided exceptional leadership to ASCO and to optometric education; made outstanding contributions to the optometric community; and displayed exemplary commitment and dedication to the Association.

He is Professor and Dean Emeritus at the Herbert Wertheim School of Optometry and Vision Science, University of California, Berkeley. He graduated in Optometry and Vision Sciences from Aston University, Birmingham, UK in 1980, where he later earned his PhD in 1985. Until 2014 he was Professor at the School of Optometry and Vision Science, University of Waterloo and in the Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences, University of Toronto, Canada, where he was Director of the Glaucoma Research Unit, Toronto Western Research Institute and a Senior Scientist at the Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network. He was the eighth dean of Berkeley Optometry and Vision Science from 2014 to 2025.

He has held continuous federal research funding for over 34 years. He has supervised 46 graduate students and has authored over 180 peer-reviewed publications. In addition, he has 14 book chapters, 3 books and given numerous invited lectures to both professional and academic audiences around the world. Additionally, Dean Flanagan holds numerous awards and honors that distinguish him in his field.

“I am so honored to have been selected as ASCO’s 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient. I am humbled and thankful to Optometry for providing me with a home, a community and a place to grow, play and contribute; it is a wonderful, thriving profession,” says Dr. Flanagan. “However, the achievements I am being recognized for are through a lifetime of friendships and collaborations, and the influence of extraordinary mentors, including great clinicians, scientists and leaders. I have indeed been lucky. But most of all I would like to acknowledge and thank Dr. Kathy Dumbleton for her partnership and sacrifice throughout my career. I would not be recognized in this way without Kathy’s love and support.”

This award is generously sponsored by Dompé.

“Dompé, a company committed to education and innovation in eye care, is proud to join ASCO in celebrating the extraordinary educators who have shaped the profession,” says Jennifer Cross, Senior Director, Field Marketing, KOL and Peer to Peer Strategy at Dompé US. “We are privileged and look forward to honoring this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award recipient.”

Herbert Wertheim Award
Dr. Dennis M. Levi is the fourth Dr. Herbert Wertheim Award recipient. This award, affectionately called the “Herbie,” recognizes remarkable individuals or organizations that have accomplished high-impact, ground-breaking, and innovative programs or initiatives, and contributed substantially, or have the potential to sustainably address, eye and vision health and/or the social determinants of eye health and vision care, at the local, national, or global level.

Dr. Levi is an American Professor at the University of California, Berkeley with appointments in the Herbert Wertheim School of Optometry & Vision Science, and the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute. His research focuses on how we see form and depth, and how these are impacted by abnormal early visual development, particularly amblyopia and strabismus. He has published more than 300 scientific papers and two books. His work has been cited almost 30,000 times and he has an h-index of 87 (Google Scholar). His research has been funded by the National Eye Institute since 1976.

He also holds the Guinness World Record for the Highest Hyperacuity. In April 1984, he repeatedly identified the relative position of a thin bright green line with a precision of 0.85 seconds of arc seconds, equivalent to a displacement of some 6 mm at a distance of 1.6 km.

“I am greatly humbled by this amazing award, and profoundly grateful to my mentors, Ron Harwerth and Gerald Westheimer, and my many friends and colleagues at both the University of Houston College of Optometry and the UC Berkeley Wertheim School of Optometry & Vision Science, for their support over the years,” says Dr. Dennis Levi.

ASCO Rising Star Award
The ASCO Rising Star Award, sponsored by Costco Wholesale Inc is given to an outstanding faculty member or administrator with less than seven years of service who has made noteworthy contributions to fulfilling the mission, strategic objectives, or programs of ASCO. This year’s Rising Star awardee is Dr. Jennifer Reilly.

Jennifer Reilly OD, MSc, FAAO is an Associate Professor of Optometry at the New England College of Optometry (NECO) in Boston, MA. She teaches theory and methods courses at NECO and is the immediate past co-Chair of ASCO’s Clinical Optometric Methods and Procedures Special Interest Group.

“I am deeply honored to be chosen for ASCO’s Rising Star Award,” says Dr. Reilly. “In my career, I have been fortunate to be surrounded by exceptional mentors at my institution who support me. I am also grateful for organizations such as ASCO who invest in the development of optometric educators with programs such as the Spring (formerly Summer) Institute for Faculty Development, where I learned so much! Thank you to the ASCO Board of Directors and Costco Optical for this recognition.” 

“We are thrilled to congratulate Dr. Reilly on being selected for the ASCO Rising Star Award,” said Dr. Pratil Lal, Head of Professional Services at Costco Wholesale Inc. “This award recognizes Dr. Reilly’s outstanding contribution to teaching and inspiring the future generations of optometrists and is a testament to our shared commitment to the future of the optometric profession.”

Dr. Lester Janoff Award for Writing Excellence

The Dr. Lester Janoff Award for Writing Excellence recognizes the outstanding writing of a research article published in the ASCO Journal Optometric Education. It is presented biannually.

This award is sponsored by Topcon.

The award is named in honor of Dr. Lester E. Janoff, editor of the Journal from 2002-2005, and long-time member of the editorial review board known for his mentoring of young writers.

The authors of the article Feedback Changes Metacognitive Accuracy Over Different Time Scales, which appeared in the Fall 2023 issue of Optometric Education, are Kevin T. Willeford, OD, MS, PhD and Nicole Patterson, OD, MS of NOVA Southeastern University College of Optometry; and Jamie Althoff, OD formerly with NOVA.

“I love to write and explore mathematical patterns so I am humbled and excited to receive recognition for doing what I enjoy,” says Dr. Willeford.

“As a faculty member who had the privilege of witnessing Dr. Janoff’s unwavering dedication to educating future optometrists, it is especially rewarding to receive The Dr. Lester Janoff Award for Writing Excellence,” according the Dr. Patterson. “His commitment to advancing our profession was truly profound, and this recognition holds special significance because of his lasting impact.”

And, Dr. Althoff says, “I am grateful for the opportunity to work with Drs. Willeford and Patterson. We appreciate the hard work of the Editorial Review Board and the Award Committee in encouraging quality research, and we are honored to receive this award in Dr. Janoff’s memory.”

“Topcon Healthcare, Inc. proudly supports ASCO and its mission to advance optometric education. We extend our heartfelt congratulations to Drs. Jamie Althoff, Nicole Patterson, and Kevin Willeford on receiving the prestigious Dr. Lester Janoff Award for Writing Excellence. Their remarkable research contributions reflect the high standards and bright future of optometric education,” says Dr. Rupe Hansra Vice President, Professional Affairs.

“At Topcon Healthcare, we believe recognizing academic excellence is vital to shaping the next generation of eye care professionals. We are dedicated to advancing that future by transforming clinical practice with innovative diagnostics, artificial intelligence, and data-driven insights, all seamlessly integrated within the Healthcare from the Eye™ connected care ecosystem. We’re honored to support the next chapter of optometry.”

A committee of the Journal editorial review board makes the selection. The judges rate all the research articles that have appeared in the journal in the previous two years. Writing excellence is judged on the significance of the topic chosen, quality of the article and potential impact.

The award consists of a certificate and a cash award of $2,000, which is divided among the authors.

ASCO Student Award in Clinical Ethics
This annual national award, sponsored by Alcon, is available to optometry students during any point of their professional program at an ASCO-affiliated school or college of optometry in the United States and Canada. The application consists of an essay of up to 1,500 words describing any one of the following scenarios:

1. A patient-based case-study that the student encountered as part of their clinical learning experience.
2. A research-based case scenario that the student has encountered during their clinical or didactic learning experience.
3. A professional ethics-based scenario that the student has encountered during their clinical or didactic learning.

ASCO announces Michelle Shang as the winner of the 2025 Student Award in Clinical Ethics. This annual national award provides the winner with a $1,000 award check and an acrylic engraved plaque.

Michelle Shang is a student at the New England College of Optometry and is expected to graduate with her Doctor of Optometry degree next year. Her winning essay, Informed Consent in Declining Cognition: A Moral Dilemma from an Optometric Perspective will also be featured in an upcoming journal of Optometric Education.

“We are thrilled to congratulate Michelle Shang as the recipient of the 2025 Student Ethics Award,” said Chad Zscherny, Director of Academic Development at Alcon. “This award celebrates clinical excellence and innovation in eye care, and Ms. Shang’s case report exemplifies the high standards of insight, creativity, and patient-centered care that we aim to recognize and promote. We commend Ms. Shang for her outstanding contribution to advancing the practice of optometry.”

Award winners were acknowledged during ASCO’s Annual Business Meeting on June 25 in Minneapolis.