The American Optometric Foundation's first attempt at directly supporting optometric education and research came in 1949 with the initiation of the AOF Fellowship Program (now known as the William C. Ezell, O.D., Fellowship Program). In that first year, one fellowship was granted to Charles R. Stewart, O.D., a student in a postdoctoral program of research and study leading to the Ph.D. degree. As the AOF's endowment grew, so did the number of fellowship awards given.

To date the AOF has granted more than 200 William C. Ezell Fellowships. Of that number, as many as half have became prominent faculty members, teachers, and researchers at the 16 schools and colleges of optometry in the United States and the 2 in Canada. Many others chose clinical practice.

Consistent with its mission, the AOF inaugurated its research grant program in 1951. To augment the support for optometric research, the AOF established an annual cash award to be given in recognition of a distinguished scientist or clinician for his or her research contributions. Established in 1969, this award program is now known as the Glenn A. Fry Lecture Award. The AOF has also established a series of recognition awards in specific optometric subdisciplines to strengthen the caliber of student research and foster greater interest in research activity.

As new programs of support were created, broader goals were set by the profession for the AOF. With over 2,000 annual contributors by the early 1970s, AOF's position within the profession was established. Based upon its unique mission, the AOF was charged with coordinating all optometric fund-raising efforts under a formal plan known as "The Umbrella Fund Raising Plan." Through the Umbrella Plan, the AOF established a scholarship program to help talented optometry students who needed financial assistance. The AOF scholarship program, like all other AOF support programs, has flourished in the ensuing years.

The American Optometric Foundation was founded in 1947 as a public membership foundation incorporated in New York state. The guiding force behind the creation of the organization was William C. Ezell, O.D., of Spartanburg, South Carolina, the then immediate past president of the American Optometric Association. Dr. Ezell, along with six other nationally prominent optometrists;

• Frederick A. Stengel, O.D.;
• Walter I. Brown, O.D.
• Leslie R. Burdette, O.D.
• John J. Brady, O.D.;
• Weston A. Pettey, O.D.;
• Harold V. Hutcheson, O.D.

enlisted the support of the profession nationwide to contribute to the creation of "a foundation to receive, accept, hold, invest, reinvest and administer gifts, legacies, bequests, devises, funds, the proceeds and benefits of trusts . . . and property of any and every sort or nature."

This foundation would "use, lend, apply, employ, expend, disburse and donate the income and all of the principal thereof for the upholding, broadening, fostering, promoting and aiding [of] optometric education; the profession of optometry and its practitioners." Dr. Ezell administered the AOF until 1961.

Today, sources of support for AOF include optometrists, corporations, other foundations, optometric auxiliaries, state associations, and private citizens interested in vision care. In 1989-90, the foundation initiated a major fund-raising plan. Because the competition for philanthropic support in the optometric community is fierce, the foundation sought professional assistance in this endeavor. This fund-raising effort has been very fruitful, and the fund-raising professional continues to help increase the AOF endowment and administer a bequest program for individuals to remember AOF in their wills.

The American Optometric Foundation's record of achievement is a strong history of dedication to the improved visual welfare of the public.