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SWAGÊÓƵ / Dr. Elizabeth Hoppe Founding Dean Scholarship

Dr. Elizabeth Hoppe Founding Dean Scholarship

Why This Fund?

Your gift to this scholarship, great or small, helps accomplish College of Optometry Founding Dean Dr. Elizabeth Hoppe’s dream to give every student the opportunity to thrive.

About Dr. Elizabeth Hoppe

Dr. Elizabeth Hoppe is a proud alum of Ferris State University College of Optometry. Dr. Hoppe continued her education with residency training in low vision rehabilitation and earned a master’s degree in Public Health from Yale University, and a Doctorate in Public Health from the University of Michigan.

Dr. Hoppe has enjoyed the opportunity to serve the profession of optometry in a variety of ways, including her role as an optometric educator at three different institutions, volunteering with the American Optometric Association, the California Optometric Association, and the American Public Health Association, conducting research, and providing patient care.

She has published numerous papers, several book chapters, and continues conducting research in optometric education, neuro-optometric rehabilitation, and services for people with autism. Dr. Hoppe has a true pioneering spirit, and along the way has accomplished several notable firsts. She is the first woman to complete the residency program at the Eastern Blind Rehabilitation Center at the West Haven, Connecticut VA. She is the first woman to hold both the OD degree and the Doctor of Public Health. She is the first woman to earn a diplomate in the American Academy of Optometry’s Public Health and Environmental Optometry Section.

She is the first woman to serve as the editor of the journal Optometric Education. Recently she became the first woman to serve as the CEO and Dean of a College of Optometry in the United States, and one of only 22 individuals who has had the honor of serving as a founder of a College of Optometry in our professional history in the U.S.

Since joining SWAGÊÓƵ, Dr. Hoppe has had an active and long-standing career in teaching, research, and optometric medicine. Dr. Hoppe has embraced the mission and values of SWAGÊÓƵ and believes every student should have the opportunity, resources, knowledge needed to become leaders in health care – continuously inspired to do good for others and make the world a healthier place.