Alumni Awards
2023 Distinguished Alumnus Award
Robert C. Layman (OD’82)
Dr. Robert C. Layman is a 1982 graduate of The Ohio State University College of Optometry.
Dr. Layman was elected to the American Optometric Association (AOA) Board of Trustees in 2013, and he currently serves as Immediate Past President. With over 35 years of continuous volunteer service, he has served as chair of numerous AOA committees and task forces.
Dr. Layman was honored with the AOA Optometrist of the Year award in 2006. He also has received the Ohio Optometrist of the Year, Ohio Young Optometrist of the Year, Ohio Key Optometrist of the Year, and Outstanding Senior Student awards.
He is a past president of the Ohio Optometric Association (OOA) and served as the OOA Electronic Health Records Task Force liaison to the Northwest Ohio Regional Extension Center/Health Information Partnership from 2010-2014. Dr. Layman chaired the EastWest Eye Conference from 2009-2011. He has presented the Realeyes Classroom Initiative curriculum to elementary schools in his community since the program’s inception in 2001.
He has served as a vision consultant to the University of Toledo Athletic Department for over 35 years. He has been an adult leader in Boy Scout Troop 87, a volunteer with the Mildred Bayer Homeless Clinic of Toledo, and a 10- year member of the YMCA Board of Managers. He has served as the President of the Kiwanis Club of West Toledo and the Toledo Jaycees.
In 2014, Dr. Layman was named one of Ohio State Optometry’s 100 Notable Alumni as part of the college’s Centennial Celebration.
Dr. Layman is an owner of Pinnacle Eye Group in Lambertville, Michigan and Great Lakes Vision Care in Monroe, Michigan. He lives with his wife, Barb, in Toledo, Ohio. They have four grown children.
2023 Early Professional Achievement Award
Shane Foster (OD’08)
Dr. Shane Foster is a 2008 graduate of The Ohio State University College of Optometry. He owns two private practices in Athens and Logan, Ohio, where he practices primary care optometry with an interest in specialty contact lenses and children’s vision. He is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Practice for the college and hosts fourth-year students in his office during their clinical rotations.
Dr. Foster is the Immediate Past President of the Ohio Optometric Association Board of Trustees, and he serves as a member of the State Government Relations Committee for the American Optometric Association. Dr. Foster is a Past President and current board member of the Ohio Optometric Foundation, which works to expand access to quality eye care for children and all Ohioans. He has been a driving force in expanding the Foundation’s In-School Eye Exam (iSee) program, which has provided thousands of free eye exams and glasses to children all over the state.
