American Optometric Foundation Announces First Jill and George Mertz Fellow
The American Optometric Foundation (AOF) is excited to be able to present the inaugural Jill and George Mertz Fellowship to Joel De Melo Bambamba, an optometry graduate from and faculty member of the Universidade Lurio School of Optometry in Mozambique. Mr. Bambamba is planning to carry out his Fellowship at the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico in order to further develop his clinical and didactic teaching skills and to gain advanced knowledge of North American Doctor of Optometry programs. He hopes to share the learning experiences acquired during the Fellowship program with the UniLurio School of Optometry and other Schools of Optometry in both Africa and Latin America. AOF President Kathy Dumbleton said, “We congratulate Mr. Bambamba on this award and look forward to meeting him at Academy 2013 Seattle in October. We believe that this will be a transformative experience for him.”
About Jill and George Mertz
The Jill and George Mertz Fellowship is a biennial $30,000 award celebrating former American Optometric Foundation President George Mertz and his wife Jill. Both passed away too soon. Jill’s estate and George’s colleagues created a substantial fund to honor their commitment to optometry and education. George once wrote:
"The training of qualified educator(s)/researchers is critical to the bright future we all want for optometry. Those who choose academic careers in optometry have less than half the lifetime earning power of those who enter most of the various modes of optometric practice. The few who sacrifice personal gain for the good of the profession in this way are deserving of our gratitude and support. While the AOF has a distinguished record of support for post-graduate optometric education through Ezell Fellowships and other programs, there is still a need to do much more."
For further information, contact:
Tracy Kitts
Foundation Coordinator
American Optometric Foundation
321-710-3936
TracyK@aaoptom.org