Purpose and History

Since 1947 the American Optometric Foundation has offered Ezell Fellowships to encourage talented persons to pursue full-time careers in optometric research and education. These fellowships support post-graduate students (primarily optometrists) in full-time programs of study and training in research that leads to the Masters or Ph.D. degrees in vision science.

The Ezell Fellowships have become the flagship program of the AOF. Fellowships are for one year and the current amount of the award is $8,000. Each student also receives travel grants to the annual meetings of the American Academy of Optometry and the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, which are $750 each.

The American Optometric Foundation has awarded more than 200 Fellowships to students pursuing graduate studies in physiological optics, vision science and related fields. Among the list of former Ezell Fellows are over 20 deans and presidents of optometric schools and colleges, over 100 faculty members and over 100 Fellows of the American Academy of Optometry, including three of its presidents.

Eligibility

Post-graduate students, continuing a full-time program of study and training in research that leads to a Masters or Ph.D. degree.

Award Levels and Duration

Fellowships are $8,000 and distributed to winners in September. Reapplication can lead to funding for an additional year. However, only under exceptional circumstances will recipients be funded for a third year.

Applications

• Applications for 2008 can be downloaded in Word document format here:
  
  Ezell Fellowship Application Form 2008

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Application Review Process

The Research Committee of the American Academy of Optometry reviews all fellowship applications and sends its recommendations to the AOF Board which approves and funds the Ezell Fellowships.

Accepting an AOF Ezell Fellowship

In accepting an AOF Ezell Fellowship, students agree to:

• submit annual reports,
• notify AOF of changes in their program,
• acknowledge the AOF in written and oral presentations,
• attend the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Optometry including the AOF Celebration Luncheon
• pursue a full-time career in optometric education and research in a school or college of optometry,
• and support the AOF through the Ezell Club.

Deadline for Receipt of Applications

• New and renewal applications, including associated materials, must be received in the AOF office by March 14, 2008.
• Applications should be emailed to
• Letters of reference should be emailed separately by the individuals writing each letter to
• You should receive an email confirming receipt of your electronic application submission. If you do not receive an email, please email prior to the submission deadline, thank you.

Further Information Contact

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New Endowed Ezell Fellowships

The Optometric Glaucoma Society Ezell Fellowship

The Optometric Glaucoma Society (OGS) has pledged to endow an Ezell Fellowship to support a graduate student in optometry and vision science working on glaucoma-related research. Under the leadership of Murray Fingeret and Tom Lewis, OGS will work with the Foundation to raise the $200,000 necessary to endow the award. They have set an ambitious goal of raising the funds within the next three years. While some of the funds will come for the Society’s corporate sponsors, the OGS membership will make individual three-year pledges to the fund. They invite all doctors interested and engaged in the management of glaucoma to join them by making a gift or pledge to the fund.

The Merton Flom Ezell Fellowship in Leadership

Mert Flom is a former Ezell Fellow, a former Academy President, and an academic leader of our profession in every sense. His passion for training, research, and leadership has led the Flom family to make significant lead pledges to establish an Ezell Fellowship with an emphasis on leadership, hopefully to include participation in courses and an internship. Mert and his wife Pene, Mert’s daughter Roanne and son-in-law Tom Raasch, and Mert’s son Walt and daughter-in-law Gail have all pledged their support for the fund. Friends of Mert have also pledged substantial support with the goal of reaching the $200,000 to endow the Fellowship. We invite all Academy Fellows who have been touched by Mert’s influence and passion to support the fund by making a five-year pledge or a one-time gift.

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American Optometric Foundation Awards 2007–2008 William C. Ezell Fellowships

The American Optometric Foundation (AOF) proudly announces the 2007–2008 recipients of its prestigious William C. Ezell Fellowships. Ezell Fellows are selected on the basis of excellence in scholarship, research and teaching. The AOF salutes the corporations that sponsored this year’s Ezell Fellowship Program: Advanced Medical Optics (AMO); Bausch & Lomb; CIBA Vision Corporation ®; and VISTAKON ®, Division of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc. Additional funding for the Ezell Fellowship Program was provided by Dr. Irvin Borish along with Essilor of America , the George S. Mertz Scholarship Fund of the American Optometric Foundation, the Section on Cornea of Contact Lenses and new this year the President’s Ezell Fellowship sponsored by AOF donors.

The Ezell Fellowship Program, named after the founding President of the AOF, William C. Ezell, OD, was established to provide opportunities to talented postgraduate students who wish to pursue careers in optometric research and education. To date over 200 William C. Ezell Fellowships have been awarded since the inception of the program in 1949. The 2008–2009 Ezell Fellows will be honored at the AOF Celebration Luncheon on Saturday, October 25, 2008 during the American Academy of Optometry’s Annual Meeting in Anaheim, California.