Marshall B. Ketchum University (MBKU) dedicated the naming of the Essilor Conference Center at the University Eye Center at Los Angeles (UECLA) on Wednesday, August 27. Essilor’s Rodney Tahran, O.D., Vice President of Professional Relations; Danne Ventura, Director of Professional Relations; Casey Stewart, Business Consultant; and Marc Barbu, District Sales Manager were hosted by MBKU’s President Kevin Alexander O.D., Ph.D, Vice President for Clinical Affairs Julie Schornack, O.D., M.Ed., and UECLA Director Mark Nakano, O.D. The naming of the Essilor Conference Center is part of a recent major gift from Essilor in support of MBKU’s ACHIEVING 20|20 Campaign.
MBKU President Kevin Alexander welcomed all remarking that, “Essilor’s multi-generational commitment to Optometry is seen once again as we unveil the Essilor Conference Center sign today. We are enormously proud of the partnership with Essilor and their commitment to Optometry.”
After unveiling the new sign Dr. Tahran added that, “Essilor does invest a lot in Optometry because we believe in the role of the optometrist and our role in supporting the next generation of optometrists. It is our great pleasure to see the Essilor Student Center in Fullerton and the Essilor Conference Center in Los Angeles become part of the fabric that makes the MBKU’s Southern California College of Optometry and Essilor such a great partnership.”
Essilor continues to lead the way as a world-wide manufacturer of eye and vision care products, but they are also leading the way in having a major social impact in communities from Los Angeles to Singapore. Essilor’s Vision Foundation is supporting MBKU’s children’s vision initiative through a special partnership with Kids Vision For Life. According to the Essilor Vision Foundation, vision is the world’s largest handicap.
Other attendees included the UECLA’s staff and students on rotation from MBKU. After the official unveiling of the Essilor Conference Center sign, all enjoyed a hosted lunch and a chance to also see the Varilux Optometry Student Bowl trophy won by MBKU student David Nguyen at the recent American Optometry Association Meeting in Philadelphia. This is The Bowl’s second journey to SCCO. The first win came in 1996.
Marshall B. Ketchum University
About Us
Rooted in a tradition of excellence in Optometry, Marshall B. Ketchum University's (MBKU's), vision is to reimagine the future of health care education by educating caring, inspired health care professionals who are prepared to deliver collaborative, patient-centric health care in an interprofessional environment.
MBKU's Vision: To reimagine the future of health care education.
MBKU's Mission: To educate caring, inspired health care professionals who are prepared to deliver collaborative, patient-centric health care in an interprofessional environment.
MBKU's Core Values: Excellence, Integrity, Innovation, Compassion and Respect.
History
Marshall B. Ketchum University is now home to the Southern California College of Optometry and the School of Physician Assistant Studies. Named after the founder of the optometric institution in 1904, the change to a university structure addresses the growing demand for highly skilled health care professionals. MBKU will provide a diversity of health care education opportunities in an environment fully focused on medical professionalism, combining advanced clinical training with innovative teaching methods. The University confers a four-year, professional degree, Doctor of Optometry (O.D.) and a Master of Science in Vision Science (M.S.) degree. MBKU's School of Physician Assistant Studies expects to award a Master of Medical Sciences (MMS) degree. MBKU has recently announced plans to establish a College of Pharmacy.
The University's superior 110-year-old optometric clinical education program provides patient care experiences in community optometric clinics; exposure to the delivery of optometric care in multi-disciplinary settings; and experiences in practices serving a wide variety of ethnic and socio-economic patient groups. Marshall B. Ketchum University owns and operates two premier eye and vision care centers – University Eye Center at Fullerton located on its campus in Fullerton, CA, and University Eye Center at Los Angeles located on Broadway at Martin Luther King Boulevard near downtown Los Angeles.
Accreditations
Marshall B. Ketchum University: Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).
Southern California College of Optometry: Accreditation Council on Optometric Education (ACOE) of the American Optometric Association.
School of Physician Assistant Studies: The ARC-PA has granted Accreditation-Provisional status to the Marshall B. Ketchum University Physician Assistant Program.
Accreditation-Provisional is an accreditation status. The status indicates that the plans and resource allocation for the proposed program appear to demonstrate the program's ability to meet the ARC-PA Standards, if fully implemented as planned. Accreditation-Provisional does not ensure any subsequent accreditation status. It is limited to no more than five years from matriculation of the first class.