33 West 42nd Street New York, , NY, 10036 United StatesIn 1910, New York City’s Columbia University opened the first, university-based school of optometry in the United States. When it closed its doors in 1956, New York and the entire surrounding region was left without a school or college of optometry. Later that same year a small group of optometrists and philanthropists from Columbia Universityaround New York City and the surrounding region came together to form the Optometric Center of New York (OCNY), a nonprofit health and education resource, as a way to fill the void left by the closing of the school at Columbia. The OCNY conducted vision and eye research, provided post-graduate course work and also established a much-needed clinic, as well as a series of satellite clinics in underserved areas of the city. After more than a decade of lobbying from the OCNY, as well as the New York State Optometric Association, the New York City Health Commissioner and others who recognized a desperate and growing need for more optometrists in New York and the surrounding region, the New York State Legislature unanimously voted to establish a new college of optometry at the end of its 1970 session. Governor Nelson Rockefeller signed the bill, however, due to an amendment that needed to be made to the bill, two additional bills were passed during the next legislative session and on April 14, 1971 Governor Rockefeller signed those bills to officially establish the State University of New York College of Optometry. Dr. Alden N. Haffner, the OCNY’s executive director, became the founding president. The initial class entered the College in September 1971.

33 West 42nd Street New York, , NY , 10036 United StatesIn 1910, New York City’s Columbia University opened the first, university-based school of optometry in the United States. When it closed its doors in 1956, New York and the entire surrounding region was left without a school or college of optometry. Later that same year a small group of optometrists and philanthropists from Columbia Universityaround New York City and the surrounding region came together to form the Optometric Center of New York (OCNY), a nonprofit health and education resource, as a way to fill the void left by the closing of the school at Columbia. The OCNY conducted vision and eye research, provided post-graduate course work and also established a much-needed clinic, as well as a series of satellite clinics in underserved areas of the city. After more than a decade of lobbying from the OCNY, as well as the New York State Optometric Association, the New York City Health Commissioner and others who recognized a desperate and growing need for more optometrists in New York and the surrounding region, the New York State Legislature unanimously voted to establish a new college of optometry at the end of its 1970 session. Governor Nelson Rockefeller signed the bill, however, due to an amendment that needed to be made to the bill, two additional bills were passed during the next legislative session and on April 14, 1971 Governor Rockefeller signed those bills to officially establish the State University of New York College of Optometry. Dr. Alden N. Haffner, the OCNY’s executive director, became the founding president. The initial class entered the College in September 1971.