The University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) is proud to announce that Dr. Yutaka Maki, an associate professor in the Rosenberg School of Optometry, was honored as the Educator of the Year by the Texas Optometric Association. The award was announced during the 125th Texas Optometric Association Annual Summit held in Austin in February.
Recently, Dr. Timothy A. Wingert, OD, FAAO, FNAP, FEAOO, retired dean and professor at the UIW Rosenberg School of Optometry (RSO) traveled to Quito, Ecuador as an invited guest speaker at the Latin American Association of Optometry and Optics, also known as Asociación Latinoamericana de Optometría y Óptica (ALDOO). Joined by Dr. Carol Pinzon, optometry program director at University Foundation of the Andean Area (Fundación Universitaria del Area Andina), Wingert discussed the internationalization of optometric education in regard to UIW’s recent partnership with its three sister schools in Ecuador: Instituto Tecnologico Blue Hill, Universidad Ecotec and Universidad Internacional del Ecuador.
UIW has five health profession schools that rank among the best in the nation: Feik School of Pharmacy (FSOP), Ila Faye Miller School of Nursing and Health Professions (SNHP), Rosenberg School of Optometry (RSO), School of Osteopathic Medicine (SOM) and School of Rehabilitation Sciences (SoRS). Each school’s curriculum emphasizes critical thinking, holistic approaches and clinical experience that will enable aspiring healthcare practitioners to graduate practice-ready across a variety of professional settings.
On Saturday, Feb. 24, faculty and students of the UIW Rosenberg School of Optometry (RSO) attended the annual Vestido Rojo event, hosted by the San Antonio Food Bank, to provide health screenings for attendees. Vestido Rojo is held in conjunction with Go Red for Women, the American Heart Association’s nationwide movement that celebrates the energy, passion, and power of women to band together and wipe out heart disease and stroke.
This winter, 11 children and adults with severe visual impairments received visually assistive technology from Sight Savers America (SSA) at the UIW Rosenberg School of Optometry (RSO) Bowden Eye Care Clinic. SSA is a non-profit organization that helps to facilitate eye care and provides low vision and blind equipment, along with any necessary equipment training, in 16 states across the nation.
Dr. Janet Summers is an Assistant Clinical Professor at the Rosenberg School of Optometry and Chief of the UIW Bowden Eye Care and Health Center. She is a first-generation college and professional school graduate who has passionately nurtured her community through years of dedicated service towards the field of optometry. Throughout her career, she has been appointed Chief of Optometry at Penn Group Health Plan, established five private practices, and served on various optometry organization boards, and was subsequently recruited to San Antonio as a Vice President of Clinical Standards and Medical Care. She joined the UIW community in 2018 as a clinical professor and mission trip leader at RSO and recently graduated with an MS in Organizational Development and Leadership with distinction in 2022. Summers was recently honored by Chatham University, her first alma mater, as the recipient of the 2023 Alumni Cornerstone Award in Optometry.
Melissa and Frances Silva have much in common. The sisters share devoted parents, an upbringing they uniquely understand, doctoral degrees in healthcare, and most recently, they became alumnae of the University of the Incarnate Word on the exact same day.
Nekima Williams, OD, assistant dean for Clinical Affairs and Externship Programs director at the UIW Rosenberg School of Optometry (RSO), was so excited she “actually started screaming” in her office when she learned she won the Educator of the Year Award from the Texas Optometric Association.
UIW and Texas Lutheran University (TLU) announced they have entered into a series of memorandums of understanding (MOU) as part of UIW’s Health Professions Pathway. The MOUs pave the way for TLU students to further their education in four different areas of health professions by reserving interview slots for qualified students to have an opportunity to attend the UIW School of Osteopathic Medicine, the Feik School of Pharmacy, the Rosenberg School of Optometry, and the UIW School of Physical Therapy.
Dr. Timothy Wingert, retired dean and professor in the University of the Incarnate Word Rosenberg School of Optometry (RSO), received the Fulbright Specialist Program Award from the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.
As the spring semester comes to a close, academic departments from around the University of the Incarnate Word have been hard at work, wrapping up major projects and celebrating big wins.
UIW is proud to announce that Joseph Pizzimenti, OD, FAAO, FORS, FNAP, a professor in the UIW Rosenberg School of Optometry, has been inducted into the National Academies of Practice (NAP) as a Distinguished Fellow.
Dr. Dede Rios, director of Optometric and Clinical Library Services for the Rosenberg School of Optometry, received a $3,000 subaward from Texas A&M University’s Libraries and Veterans National Forum. Rios initially worked with a diverse group of librarians from all over the United States to create toolkits for libraries to use to initiate programming. She is now working with the UIW Military and Veterans Center to implement use of the funding.
Each spring, the University of the Incarnate Word community comes together as “One Word” to work towards “One Goal” – raising funds to support current and future UIW students. UIW’s fourth annual Day of Giving, known as “One Word. One Goal.,” will be celebrated for 1881 minutes, in honor of the University’s founding year, during Incarnate Word Week beginning March 23.
After a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19, University of the Incarnate Word health professions faculty and students, public health conditions permitting, are planning to participate in the Quijotes of San Antonio Interprofessional Health Mission.
Two faculty members from the University of the Incarnate Word Rosenberg School of Optometry – associate professor Dr. Matt Valdes and acting dean and associate professor Dr. Sandra Juarez Fortenberry – will be recognized at the Texas Optometric Association (TOA) conference on Feb. 19.
The University of the Incarnate Word Rosenberg School of Optometry (UIWRSO) is proud to announce the publication of a groundbreaking new study that found special EnChroma glasses, engineered with technically advanced spectral notch filters, enhance color vision for those with the most common types of color vision deficiency. It should be noted that test subjects with color blindness experienced immediate improvement, which persisted long-term even after subjects stopped wearing the glasses.
Dr. Dede Rios, director of the Brackenridge Optometry Library, has been recognized for attaining her Distinguished Level credential in the Academy of Health Information Professionals (AHIP) by the Medical Library Association. Rios is also a recipient of the Scholarly Communications Award, presented by the Texas Digital Libraries, for her work on the Optometric Clinical Practice, the Rosenberg School of Optometry’s open access, peer-reviewed journal.
After a national search, UIW is pleased to announce that Sandra Fortenberry, OD, FAAO, has been selected as the next Dean of the UIW Rosenberg School of Optometry (RSO).
The University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) is proud to announce that Dr. Timothy Wingert, dean of the Rosenberg School of Optometry, has been named a Fulbright Scholar to Poland by the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board which is overseen by the United States Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
The University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) and Rust College have entered into a series of memorandums of understanding that will help pave the way for Rust College students to realize their dreams of a career in healthcare.
The University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) and St. Edward’s University in Austin have entered into a series of memorandums of understanding that will eventually benefit the health and safety of residents throughout Central and South Texas.
