Centennial
President’s Medal Recipients
Many people have been part of the proud history of the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO) and Salus University. Alumni, faculty, and friends of the College helped establish PCO as a pioneer and leader in the field of optometric education and the profession of optometry. The following people - highlighted on Medal Mondays - were honored on May 20, 1995 at the 75th Anniversary Gala Celebration for their outstanding contributions to the College and the field of optometry and vision care.
During the weekend of the Centennial Gala Celebration, additional alumni, faculty, and friends were honored.
I. William Collins, OD ’47, was active during his years at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO), serving as vice president of the Class of 1944; as a member of the tennis and basketball teams; on the staffs of publications such as the Iris, the Pupil and the Review; and as a member of Omicron Delta Epsilon.
After graduation, Dr. Collins remained active, serving in various optometric associations. He is the past president of the Bucks-Montgomery Optometric Association and a member of the Pennsylvania Optometric Association (POA), where he served as chairman of the Contact Lens and Continuing Education committees. In 1983, he was presented with the George Gottschalk Memorial Award by the POA.
Dr. Collins is a member of the American Optometric Association and is a Diplomate in the American Academy Optometry’s Contact Lens Section. He has also served as an FDA investigator for numerous contact lens designs.
He served as chief executive officer of The Source Buying Group, which he started in 1984. The Source was then acquired by Block Vision.
Dr. Collins was an elected member of the PCO Board of Trustees in 1992 and became a board trustee emeritus in 2015. He served the College as a visiting clinical instructor and adjunct associate professor of optometry. In 1997, he received PCO’s Presidential Medal of Honor.
Prior to his retirement, he maintained a group practice in Pottstown, Pa.
