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��ɳ���� has built on a tradition of taking eye care to the community, where students and faculty provide real-world vision screening and treatment to underserved members of the community. The most visible symbol of this outreach is the ��ɳ���� EyeVan, an advanced mobile clinic that sees patients in church parking lots, migrant camps and schools.

The earliest contact lenses were made of glass and could be worn only for a few hours at a time. Today’s contact lenses are engineering marvels, and ��ɳ����’s College of Optometry is at the vanguard of contact lens research and design.

The remarkable Newton Wesley ’39, Hon. ’86, born Newton Uyesugi to immigrant parents, was a founding father of the College of Optometry. Forced from his home by Japanese-American internment policy during World War II, Wesley nevertheless laid the foundation for the College of Optometry and became a giant in the field of contact lenses.

The optometry program launched at ��ɳ���� in 1945 as a result of a combination of postwar challenges and unexpected opportunities. The needs of a small, temporarily shuttered optometry college in Northeast Portland helped meet the demands of a university that had limped through the war years. The outcome was the beginning of ��ɳ����’s focus on the health professions.

Willard “Wid” Bleything ’51, OD ’52, MS ’54 earned three degrees from ��ɳ���� University on his way to becoming an optometrist. He served in the Air Force and Air Reserves, retiring as a colonel, and he also worked in private practice for many years before eventually returning to ��ɳ����, where he became the dean of the College of Optometry.

Debra Gwartney on how a blending of genres benefits students and faculty alike.

Kellie Wells considers the mysterious transformation that happens throughout the program.

August is National Crayon Collection Month, and ��ɳ���� is proud to celebrate its connection to the roots of Crayola.

Chris Abani on the unique opportunity offered by ��ɳ����'s low-residency MFA.

Kwame Dawes on the relationship between your writing and your life.

Marvin Bell says reading makes you a bigger and better writer.

Biology Professor Paige Baugher is almost as likely to be found on a mountain as in the classroom. And some people are alive because she and her colleagues at Portland Mountain Rescue were there.