ASCO Announces Special Recognition Awards Recipients Including Inaugural Rising Star Awardee
Dr. Barbara Fink
ROCKVILLE, MD, July 24, 2014 – The Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO) is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2014 Special Recognition Awards.
Dr. Yi Pang, Assistant Dean for Research and Associate Professor, Illinois College of Optometry (ICO), won the inaugural Rising Star Award; Dr. Barbara Fink, Associate Professor of Optometry and Vision Science and Chair of the Diversity Enhancement Committee, The Ohio State University College of Optometry, is the recipient of the Dr. Jack Bennett Innovation in Optometric Education Award; and Dr. Ryan Anderson, Midwestern University – Arizona College of Optometry, won the Student Award in Clinical Ethics.
Sponsored by Oculus, the ASCO Rising Star Award is given to an outstanding faculty member or administrator with less than 10 years of service. Dr. Pang was recognized for her outstanding contributions to ASCO, most notably in the area of international optometric education and for her achievements at ICO.
“It is my greatest honor to receive the first ASCO’s Rising Star Award. I have been enjoying my teaching, research, and administration work at ICO since I graduated from the New England College of Optometry in 2005 and hope to continue my contribution to the profession of optometry,” says Dr. Pang.
Dr. Yi Pang
Named after Dr. Jack Bennett, a creative leader in optometric education who served as dean at three optometric institutions, ASCO’s Dr. Jack Bennett Innovation in Optometric Education Award recognizes an ASCO volunteer for an outstanding innovation in optometric education through ASCO. Dr. Fink received the Bennett award in recognition of her outstanding work to facilitate the implementation of the ASCO Cultural Competency Curriculum Guidelines at the schools and colleges of optometry.
“I have a high regard for Dr. Jack Bennett, and I feel privileged to receive this award that was named in his honor,” Dr. Fink says. “The list of previous award winners is humbling. I am pleased that my efforts for ASCO have been deemed valuable.”
Optometry student Dr. Ryan Anderson won the Student Award in Clinical Ethics, sponsored by International Vision Expo, for his essay entitled “Tough Talks and Patient Privacy.”
“I’d like to thank ASCO for selecting my essay for the Student Award in Clinical Ethics. It’s an honor to share my experience and I hope it helps other future optometrists in making the right ethical decisions,” according to Dr. Anderson.
A fourth-year student, Anderson plans to complete a post-doctoral residency in Primary Eye Care with the Veterans Affairs San Diego Health Care System in California.
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Dr. Ryan Anderson
The Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO) is a non-profit association representing the interests of optometric education. Founded in 1941 and headquartered in Rockville, MD, ASCO is committed to achieving excellence in optometric education and to helping its member institutions prepare well-qualified graduates for entrance into the profession of optometry. Its membership encompasses the schools and colleges of optometry in the 50 states and Puerto Rico. A number of optometry schools outside the United States are affiliate members.
