ASCO Lifetime Achievement Award

Thank you to Costco for their generous support by sponsoring this award

Dr. David A. Heath served the 3^rd President of the State University of New York State College of Optometry from June 2007 until August 2024 and held the rank of Professor. Following his decision to step down from the presidency, he received a one-year appointment from State University Chancellor John King to serve as Special Advisor: Upstate Doctor of Optometry Extension Program. Dr. Heath retired from SUNY June 30, 2025.

Prior to his current appointment, Dr. Heath was at The New England College of Optometry where he served as Vice President/Dean of Academic Affairs (2000-2006), and Dean of Academic Affairs (1994-2006). He was on the faculty of The New England College of Optometry beginning in 1984 and attained the rank of Professor of Optometry (tenured) in 1994. Dr. Heath received his B.A. from Ithaca College in 1976; Doctor of Optometry from The New England College of Optometry in 1983; completed his residency in 1984; and earned his Master in Education from Harvard University in 1992. 

With numerous scholarly publications and/or presentations to his credit, Dr. Heath is best known for his work in educational program development and international vision care.  In 2001 and 2007, Dr. Heath was the recipient of the Jack Bennett Innovation in Education Award from the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry for his leadership in optometric education nationally. He was recognized and awarded the status of “Distinguished Scholar” in the National Academies of Practice in 2009.

Internationally, Dr. Heath has worked extensively in China with the Wenzhou Medical College, the Ministry of Public Health and the medical education system to increase the quantity and quality of primary eye care providers in China. In 2010, he was recognized by China’s Ministry of Foreign Expert Affairs with China’s highest honor for foreigners, the “China Friendship Award”.

Dr. Heath is active nationally, serving twice as President of ASCO during the 2012-2013 and 2015-2016 academic years. He was as founding member on the Board of Directors of the American Board of Optometry from 2009 – 2015. Dr. Heath has also been active with the American Optometric Association and the New York State Optometric Association. 

Dr. Heath received the American Optometric Association’s President’s Award in 2020, the New York State Optometric Association’s Frederick A. Woll Award (2024). and was recognized by the American Board of Optometry with the inaugural Visionaries Award for Volunteer Services (2024).

Thank you to Dompe for their generous support by sponsoring this award

Dr. John G. Flanagan 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 35 years (MRC/CIHR/CHRP/NIH), with additional research funding from the BrightFocus Foundation, the Glaucoma Research Society of Canada and the Glaucoma Research Foundation. He has supervised 47 graduate students and has authored over 185 peerreviewed publications. In addition, he has 14 book chapters, 3 books and given numerous invited lectures to both professional and academic audiences around the world. His research interests include basic mechanisms of human glaucoma and neurodegeneration (glial cell function, lipid mediators, neuroprotection, neuroinflammation), ocular imaging, clinical psychophysics and vascular reactivity. Awards include Certificate of Merit for Research Excellence, Glaucoma Research Society of Canada; Claire Bobier Lecture, University of Waterloo; Springer Lecture, University of Alabama; the Glenn A Fry Award from the American Academy of Optometry; Outstanding Performance Award, University of Waterloo (2004 & 2013); Institute of Medical Science Mel Silverman Mentorship Award, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto; the Dario Lorenzetti Lecture, McGill Ophthalmology; and the Karen Walker-Brandreth Lecture, UC Berkeley. He was a plenary lecturer at the 2003 AAO meeting and was appointed as faculty for the inaugural World Glaucoma Congress in 2005 and subsequent WGC meetings. He was a founding member of the Optometric Glaucoma Society; Program Chair from 2002 to 2007, and President from 2007 to 2012. He is also a member of the American Glaucoma Society, and a Fellow of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology and the American Academy of Optometry. From 2008-2014 he was inaugural Chair of the Clinical Research Ethics Committee at the University of Waterloo. He has also served as a Governor and Senator at the University of Waterloo and was a member of the Senate Executive Committee. He served as President of the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry, in 2020/21.
He serves on the Boards of Optometry Giving Sight and the Glaucoma Research Foundation, where he is chair of the Research Committee. In 2015 he was awarded a life fellowship of the British College of Optometrists. In 2016 he received a DSc honoris causa from alma mater Aston University. In 2017 he was designated a Distinguished Professor Emeritus, University of Waterloo. In 2020, he received the President’s Award for services to the profession of optometry from the American Optometric Association, and in 2022 was included in the inaugural cohort of the American Academy of Optometry’s Hall of Fame. In 2023, he was named the Borish Scholar by the School of Optometry at the University of Indiana, and in 2024 received a Certificate of Honor from the City of San Francisco, the Paul Yarwood Award from the California Optometric Association, and a Certificate of Recognition from the California Attorney General. In 2025 he was honoured with a Berkeley Citation.

Award presented during the 2025 Annual Business Meeting

Remarks from Dr. John Flanagan

Karla Zadnik is the interim executive vice president and provost of The Ohio State University and the interim dean of the university’s College of Public Health. As interim executive vice president and provost, Dr. Zadnik leads Ohio State’s Office of Academic Affairs, which oversees the university’s academic enterprise — including 15 colleges, four regional campuses, University Libraries, and units that support academic experience and operations for the university’s more than 65,000 students and 8,400 faculty members.

Most recently, Dr. Zadnik served as dean of Ohio State’s College of Optometry. Additionally, she has served as the lead dean for the university’s seven health science colleges and chaired the Biomedical Sciences Institutional Review Board.

A Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and a prominent patient-oriented researcher in the field of optometry and vision science, Dr. Zadnik is an Ohio State Distinguished Scholar and the Glenn A. Fry Professor of Optometry and Physiological Optics. She earned her OD and PhD degrees from the University of California, Berkeley School of Optometry and was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 2023. She is a past president of the American Academy of Optometry, ASCO, and the National Board of Examiners in Optometry.

Dr. Zadnik was the Study Chairman for the National Institutes of Health-funded Collaborative Longitudinal Evaluation of Ethnicity and Refractive Error Study and she chaired the first-ever NIH-funded multicenter study based in optometry, the Collaborative Longitudinal Evaluation of Keratoconus Study.

Video presented at ASCO’s Annual Business Meeting

Professor Smith received his OD (1972) and PhD (1978) from the University of Houston and subsequently joined the faculty of the UH College of Optometry. During his tenure in the College of Optometry, he held the Greeman-Petty Professorship in Vision Development and served as the Chair of the Basic Sciences Department, the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research, the Dean of the College of Optometry, and as the Interim Chief Health Officer of the University of Houston. Dr. Smith currently holds the position of Professor Emeritus.

Professor Smith’s research interests are focused on the optics of the eye. For his research on the role of vision in regulating refractive development, he received the Glenn Fry Award (1996) and the Prentice Medal (2010) from the American Academy of Optometry, the Korb Award for Excellence from the Contact Lens and Cornea Section of the AOA (2011) and was recognized as a Distinguished Scholar by the National Academy of Practice in Optometry (2012). Professor Smith has published over 200 refereed papers and received 38 years of research funding from the National Institute of Health’s (NIH) National Eye Institute (NEI). He is also an accomplished lecturer, having received teaching awards at the department, college, and university levels. In 2021, Professor Smith received the Farfel Award from the University of Houston, the highest honor awarded to a UH faculty member.

Professor Smith has been an active member of the vision science community. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry, a past ARVO Fellow (inaugural class), a past President of the American Optometric Foundation (2002), a past President of the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (2010), a past Member and Chair of NIH NEI’s Central Visual Processing Study Section (1998-2003), a past member of NIH’s National Advisory Eye Council (2005-2008), and a past Director on the Boards of the National Alliance for Eye and Vision Research and the Alliance for Eye and Vision Research.

For his accomplishments in teaching and his impact on the profession of optometry, the Texas Optometric Association presented Professor Smith with the Educator of the Year (2003) and Optometrist of the Year (2009) awards, the AOA inducted him into National Optometry Hall of Fame (2015) and was admitted to the Leadership & Legacy Society of the American Academy of Optometry (2022).

Video presented at ASCO’s Annual Business Meeting

David S. Loshin received his BS degree from Rochester Institute of Technology in Photographic Science and Instrumentation with emphasis in optical engineering. He completed his professional degree in Optometry and his MS and PhD in Physiological Optics at The Ohio State University. He served as a member of both the professional and graduate faculty at the University of Houston for over eighteen years. During his last five years at UH, he also held administrative roles as Assistant Dean for Finance and Administration and Chair of the Residency Programs. 

After serving as the Dean and Professor at the University of Missouri St Louis School of Optometry, he was appointed Dean and Professor at Nova Southeastern University College of Optometry, a position he held for 24 years. He left the Dean position at the end of July 2020 and started a one-year sabbatical. The University presented him the title of Dean Emeritus in November 2020.

In his role as Dean of the NSU College of Optometry, he has been instrumental in developing creative programs including the Optometry Extended Program, the Preparatory Optometry Program and a totally on-line Master of Science in Clinical Vision Research. Under his leadership, The Eye Care Institute, the clinical arm of the professional program, has four clinical sites with the most advanced instrumentation and utilization of electronic medical records.

Dr. Loshin has taught a variety of courses and also served as a clinical preceptor in primary care and low vision clinics. He has received grant funding from the National Institutes of Health, the NASA Johnson Space Center, the State of Texas, as well as from the NSU Health Professions, University and several corporations. He has published over 70 papers, abstracts and technical reports related to his research interests as well a workbook on Geometrical Optics. He is a Research Diplomate in Low Vision from the American Academy of Optometry.

Dr. Loshin has held positions on a variety of college and university committees and professional organizations including serving as President of ASCO for two years. He was instrumental in establishing the ASCO Residency Educator’s SIG and served as chair and co-chair for over 20 years. He has received several professional and service awards, including the American Optometric Association’s Low Vision Section’s Vision Care Award, Nova Southeastern University Academic Dean of the Year, Heiken Children’s Vision Program Honoree and recently the Florida Optometric Association Lifetime Achievement Award. Dr. Loshin continues to be an advocate for optometric education and professional optometry.

Dr. Hoffman has been a longtime advocate for optometric residencies and community health center based optometry. He served as New England College of Optometry’s Director of Residencies from 1985 to 2020 and was Director of Eye Care Services for 35 years at DotHouse Health, a Boston community health center.

Within ASCO, Dr. Hoffman has served in several capacities including as Co-chair of the Residency Educators special interest group, Chair of the ORMatch Committee, Chair of the Residency Titles Task Force and a member of the Residency Affairs Committee.

Dr. Janice Scharre began her optometric career as a graduate of the Illinois College of Optometry (ICO), then joined the faculty at ICO. There she served in a variety of capacities. In 2014, Dr. Scharre joined Salus University as the Provost. Dr. Scharre is ASCO’s first female Lifetime Achievement Award recipient and we thank her for her commitment to ASCO and her role is advancing optometric education.
Dr. Scharre thank you message

Prior to Dr. Augsburger’s appointment at ICO in 2002, he served 30 years in a variety of leadership roles in higher education including the Interim Provost of UAB, Dean and Professor of the UAB School of Optometry, and Professor of Clinical Optometry at The Ohio State University College of Optometry. Congratulations Dr. Augsburger on your Lifetime Achievement Award and thank you for your dedication to ASCO and optometric education.
Special Recognition Video

Dr. William E. Cochran’s Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes his outstanding and exceptional leadership to ASCO and to optometric education, his contributions to the optometric community, and displayed exemplary commitment and dedication to the association.
Special Recognition Video

Dr. Melvin Shipp is honored with the ASCO Lifetime Achievement Award. Dr. Shipp, over an extended period of time, has provided exceptional leadership to ASCO and to optometric education. We thank him for his exemplary commitment and dedication.