Alumni Awards
Distinguished Alumnus Award
Jeffrey Myers (OD’84)
Jeffrey Myers was a true Central Ohio success story. He was a proud graduate of Groveport-Madison High School, Otterbein College, and of course, The Ohio State University College of Optometry. As an Ohio State Optometry student, his peers elected him president of the Class of 1984, and he was an active Epsilon Psi Epsilon board member.
Throughout his successful career in private practice (he owned and operated Winchester Vision Care for more than 40 years) and as a member of the college’s clinical faculty, Dr. Myers was the definition of a servant leader. He gave himself to causes that advanced the profession through grand, sweeping gestures but also through small acts of kindness. He believed that he lived a blessed life, and he wanted to share those blessings with others. He rarely said “no” to a request for his time or talent. He was president of the Ohio Optometric Association, chair of the East West Eye Conference, president of the Ohio Optometric Foundation, governor of the Central Ohio Optometric Association and chair of the Exhibits Committee of the American Academy of Optometry. He was a fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and received the Warren G. and Ruth P. Morris Optometrist of the Year Award from the Ohio Optometric Association in 2003.
Dr. Myers was one of the college’s most supportive champions. He chaired the college’s Capital Campaign Committee and served on the university’s Campaign Coordinating Committee. In 2009, he and his wife, Joyce, established the Jeffrey and Joyce Myers Lecture Series at the College of Optometry, annually bringing top optometry and vision science experts to campus. A natural storyteller, Dr. Myers served as the editor of our BuckEYE Alumni Magazine for more than 20 years.
Dr. Myers passed away peacefully at the James Cancer Hospital on August 4, 2024. He left behind an incredible legacy among our colleagues but more so among his cherished family.
Early Professional Achievement Award
Ann Morrison (OD’14, MS’16, PhD’21)
Ann Morrison graduated from The Ohio State University College of Optometry with her OD in 2014. She completed an Advanced Practice Fellowship in Binocular Vision and Pediatrics and earned a master’s degree in Vision Science in 2016. After her fellowship, she stayed on faculty as a clinical instructor while earning her PhD in Vision Science, which she received in 2021. Dr. Morrison was hired as an Assistant Professor in the College of Optometry in 2022, where she attends in the Binocular Vision and Pediatric Clinic, teaches strabismus in the third-year optometry curriculum, advises graduate students, and conducts patient-oriented research. Dr. Morrison’s primary research focus is on early vision development and emmetropization in infants. She also researches strabismus, amblyopia, myopia control, ocular accommodation, and visual sequelae after traumatic brain injuries.
Dr. Morrison is active in the optometric community as a member of the Ohio Optometric Association, American Optometric Association, National Optometric Association, Pediatric Eye Disease Investigator Group (PEDIG), the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, and the American Academy of Optometry. She is a clinical diplomate in the Academy’s Binocular Vision, Perception and Pediatric Optometry Sector and serves as the co-program chair for the section. Dr. Morrison resides in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband Colin, and their cats Louie, George, and Arthur.
