Centennial
Honorary Degree of Doctor of Law 1987 Recipient Honorable William H. Gray, III
The Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO) was first approved by the Department of Education and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to award an honorary Doctor of Science (SCD), a Doctor of Laws (LLD), and a Doctor of Humane Letters (LHD.) in 1963. PCO, and now Salus, was approved to provide the honorary degrees at commencement or special academic convocations to recognize unusual merit, creative leadership, or distinctive accomplishments in scholarship, arts and letters, individual professions or service to mankind of national or international significance. The first honorary Doctor of Science degree was presented to Dr. Julius F. Neumueller, professor emeritus, physical and geometrical optics, in 1963.
Achievements in the professions of health and sciences, clinical care, educational advancement, public health, research, government service, and the social concerns of our times are considered among the categories for nominations. To assure the highest standard of distinction and singularity and to establish the prestige and status of the honorary degree, the University exercises great discretion in the number of honorary degrees and awards during the course of any one academic year. Nominations for the honorary degree are forwarded to the institution’s Educational Policy and Curriculum Committee of the Board of Trustees and presented to the full board for its approval.
Tomorrow, during the 2018 Fall Commencement, Dr. Janice E. Scharre, FAAO, immediate past provost and vice president for Academic Affairs, will receive her Honorary Doctor of Science Degree as she joins the list below of distinguished recipients of this prestigious honor:
1963 *Dr. Julius F. Neumueller, Emeritus Professor of Physical and Geometrical Optics, Pennsylvania College of Optometry
1964 Arlin M. Adams, Esq., Former Secretary of Welfare, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
1965 *Dr. William W. Hagerty, President, Drexel Institute
1966 *Honorable Harrison A. Williams, U. S. Senator, New Jersey
1967 *Honorable Marvin V. Keller, Member, Pennsylvania Senate
*Dr. Onofrey G. Rybachok, Professor of Anatomy
1968 *Honorable Alfred E. Driscoll, Former Governor of New Jersey
1969 *Dr. Edward J. Fisher, Director, Waterloo University
*Dr. Glenn A. Fry, Regents Professor, The Ohio State University
*Dr. Carel C. Koch, Secretary, American Academy of Optometry
*Dr. H. Ward Ewalt, Jr., Past President, American Optometric Association (AOA)
*Dr. Henry W. Hofstetter, Past President, AOA
*Dr. Harold Kohn, Counsel Emeritus, AOA
*Dr. David H. Kurtzman, Former Commissioner of Education,
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
1970 *Dr. William Greenspon, Past President, International Association,
Board of Examiners
1971 *Dr. John C. Neill, Emeritus Professor of Contact Lens Practice
*Dr. Jacob Nevyas, Emeritus Professor of Chemistry
1972 *Dr. Harold Simmerman, Emeritus Professor of Ocular Biology, Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO)
1973 Dr. Alden Norman Haffner, Dean, State Univ. of New York College of Optometry
1974 Dr. Quentin R. Orlando, Member, Pennsylvania Senate
*Dr. Kenneth Milo Endicott, Department of Health, Education and Welfare
1975 Dr. Irvin M. Borish, Professor of Optometry, Indiana University
1976 *Dr. Meredith Walter Morgan, Dean, School of Optometry,
University of California at Berkeley
*Dr. John McAllister, Sr., Posthumous Optometric Pioneer
1977 Dr. Leonard Bachman, Secretary of Health, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
1978 Dr. Lorrin Andrews Riggs, Emeritus Professor, Brown University
1980 Dr. Alan M. Laties, Professor, University of Pennsylvania
1981 *Dr. Israel Dvorine, Inventor
1982 *Dr. Luis W. Alvarez, Emeritus Professor, University of California
1983 Dr. Harris Ripps, Professor, NY University Medical Center
1984 Dr. Adolph Irvin Cohen, Professor, Washington Univ. School of Medicine
1987 Dr. Irving Bennett '44, President, Advisory Enterprises, Inc.
1990 Dr. Norman E. Wallis, Past President of PCO, Executive Director,
National Board of Examiners in Optometry
1993 Dr. Donald R. Korb, Private Practitioner
1994 *Dr. William W. Policoff, Posthumous, Optometric Pioneer
1995 Prof. Dr. Guiseppe Grimaldi, President, International Lions Club
1997 Dr. Carl Kupfer, Director, National Eye Institute
1999 Dr. Brien Holden, Director, Cooperative Research Center for
Eye Research & Technology, University of New South Wales
*Dr. John Perry, Jr., '24, Emeritus Member, Board of Trustees
2001 Dr. Anthony Adams, Dean, University of California at Berkeley, School of
Optometry
2002 Dr. Gerald Chader, Chief Scientific Officer, The Foundation Fighting Blindness
2003 Dr. William Baldwin, Former President, River Blindness Foundation
2004 Dr. Stanley J. Yamane, Former Vice President Prof. Affairs, Vistakon
2005 Dr. Serge Resnikoff, Coordinator, World Health Organization
2006 Dr. Wolfgang Cagnolati, Duisburg, Germany
2007 Mr. Raymond Kurzweil, President, Kurzweil Technologies, Inc.
2008 Dr. Lucille Beck, Audiologist
Dr. Jerald Strickland, Assistant Vice Chancellor for International Studies,
University of Houston
2009 Dr. Judith Gravel* (posthumously), Audiologist,
2010 Dr. John Amos, Professor of Optometry, School of Optometry, University of
Alabama
Dr. Fred Bess, Professor and Director, Nat’l Ctr. For Childhood Deafness and
Family Community
2011 Dr. Michael Boulton, Professor in Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of
Florida
2012 Mr. Douglas Anderson, Founder, Optos PLC
2015 Dr. Harvey Rubin, Director, Institution For Strategic Threat Analysis and Response, University of Pennsylvania
2017 Dr. David Nash, Founding Dean, Jefferson College of Population Health
Dr. Rachel Levine, Physician General, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
2018 Dr. Lorraine Lombardi, Emeritus Professor, Salus University
Dr. Janice Scharre, MA, FAAO, Emeritus Professor, Provost, Salus University
1974 Honorable Samuel M. Lehrer, Judge, Philadelphia Municipal Court
1975 * Honorable Daniel J. Flood, Member, U.S. House of Representatives
1976 * Honorable Nochem S. Winnet, Trustee Emeritus
1977 * Mr. J. Harold Bailey, Executive Director, AOA
1978 Honorable Donald J. Mitchell, Member, U.S. House of Representatives
1979 Mr. James Alfred Lee, President of the World Bank
1980 * Dr. William Feinbloom, Pioneer, Low Vision
1982 Dr. Robert C. Wilburn, Office of Budget & Administration, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
1983 Ellis Lyons, Esq. General Counsel, AOA
1984 Mr. Leonard Abramson, President, U.S. Health Care Systems, Inc.
1985 Mr. David Brenner, Entertainer
1986 Honorable John Stauffer, Member, Pennsylvania Senate
1987 Honorable William H. Gray, III, Member, U.S. House of Representatives
1988 * Ms. Maggie Kuhn, Founder, The Gray Panthers
Dr. Martin Hafter '49, Member, Board of Trustees
1989 Sister M. L. Antoun, Past President Villa Maria College, Kenneth B. Lee, Esq., Member, Board of Trustees
1991 Dr. Constance E. Clayton, Superintendent of Schools, Philadelphia
Mr. Thomas E. Eichhorst, Council; American Optometric Association
1994 Mr. John M. Torok, Partner, The Torok Group
1999 Dr. John Robinson, '54, Executive Director, NC Board of Examiners in Optometry
2007 The Honorable James Ryun, Congressman
1992 Mr. Nelson G. Harris, President, Tastykake Baking Company
1993 Mr. Bernard W. Walsh, President, Vistakon, Inc.
1994 Dr. G. Burtt Holmes, Private Practitioner, Retired
1996 Mr. Gérand Cottet, Chairman & CEO, Essilor International
1997 * Dr. John D. Perry, Jr. ‘28, Private Practitioner, Retired
1997 Mr. Jack Weightman, Vice President/General Manager, Alcon Vision Care
1998 Dr. Melvin Wolfberg ‘51, Past President of PCO
2000 Dr. Harvey Hanlen, 74, Private Practitioner & President AOA
2005 Mr. Clement Kusiak, President, Lions Club International
2008 Dr. Akio Kanai, President, All Japan Optometric and Optical Association
2009 Rear Admiral Michael Mittelman, Berk, Virginia
2010 Mr. Lawrence Campbell, President, International Council for Education of People with Visual Impairment
Dr. Kenneth Moritsugu, Rear Admiral, U.S. Public Health Service (Retired)
*Deceased
