image: Headwinds: Navigating Barriers to Success: Keynote Guest Speaker and Panelists
Credit: SUNY College of Optometry
New York, NY— This week, the State University of New York (SUNY) College of Optometry held a continuation of their annual webinar series, Race in Optometry which started in 2020. Aimed at fostering a national dialogue that leads to necessary changes to increase diversity in the optometric profession and education, the annual webinar focused on Headwinds: Navigating Barriers to Success. This webinar was the seventh installment in a series hosted annually around the Juneteenth holiday by the College’s Office of Continuing Professional Education. Building upon previous themes and actions, each year the conversation evolves to transparently address the progress made as well as current issues.
Dr. Joy Harewood, OD, Director of Diversity, Inclusion, Equity and Belonging at SUNY Optometry, moderated the event. Dr. Harewood noted that it was one year ago that the 6th installment of the webinar series was held on the eve of the monumental SCOTUS decision that struck down racially conscious admissions at most schools. This has been combined with consistent and sustained legislative pressure to dismantle equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives in many aspects of our society, particularly in higher education. “We come together to discuss challenges but also tools and solutions to speak on how we will continue to center equity and inclusion in our profession as we move forward.”
SUNY Optometry President Dr. David A. Heath provided introductory comments and his reflections on four years of important and necessary discussions that have arisen from this webinar series. He went on to introduce the panel’s Keynote Speaker, Dr. John B. King Jr. Chancellor, State University of New York. “On the topic of racial diversity, it’s worth pointing out the tremendous strides SUNY Optometry has made. A decade, or more, of hard work has seen applications from members of underrepresented minorities double, acceptances quadruple, and matriculants triple to about 15% of the Class of 2027.” Chancellor King also pointed out the work across all SUNY schools is ongoing. “DEI is laced throughout everything we do at SUNY because SUNY is an institution of public education focused on opportunity, on upward mobility, on equity, and on removing the broadest to the most niche barriers that prevent marginalized and underrepresented potential students from enrolling and graduating. DEI is one of our four pillars of success adopted as our foundation for our quest for success.”
The power packed panel consisted of leaders from key organizations that support diversity in optometric education and the profession including SUNY College of Optometry (Dr. Guilherme “Gui” Albieri, VP of Student Affairs and Engagement), American Academy of Optometry (Dr. Vondolee Delgado-Nixon, DEIB Committee Chair), Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (Dr. Lucy Kehinde Darnell, Diversity and Cultural Competency Committee), Salus University (Dr. Juliana Mosley-Williams, Special Assistant to the President for DEI), Indiana University (Dr. Edwin Marshall, Professor Emeritus – Optometry and Public Health | Past Vice President – Diversity, Equity, and Multicultural Affairs), American Optometric Association (Dr. Curtis A. Ono, Board of Trustees), and National Optometric Association (Dr. Mark Orso, President-Elect).
Addressing changes observed in the past few years and the SCOTUS decision from last year, Dr. Edwin C. Marshall commented, “I am cautiously optimistic. The journey will continue. Just like we saw in 2020, a lot of energy came out of some negative realities, and I think we will see a lot of energy come out of this. Many times, through adversity, we become creative. I think we will need to become more creative in order to deal with those headwinds as we take our journey along that sea of unknowns.”
Wrapping up the conversation was a continued call for accountability with distinct goals and actions as well as identifying the consequences for inaction.
To view past Race in Optometry episodes, visit https://www.sunyopt.edu/academics/programs/continuing-education-ce/special-series/
###
About SUNY Optometry
Founded in 1971 and located in New York City, the State University of New York College of Optometry is a leader in education, research, and patient care, offering the Doctor of Optometry degree as well as MS and Ph.D. degrees in vision science. The College conducts a robust program of basic, translational and clinical research and has 65 affiliated clinical training sites. SUNY Optometry is regionally accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools; its four-year professional degree program and residency programs are accredited by the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education of the American Optometric Association. All classrooms, research facilities, and the University Eye Center, which is one of the largest optometric outpatient facilities in the nation, are located on 42nd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues in midtown Manhattan. To learn more about SUNY Optometry, visit www.sunyopt.edu.