In Memoriam: UABSO’s Dr. Larry Alexander

Dr. Larry Alexander

Dr. Larry Alexander

ASCO joins the optometric community in saying goodbye to a beloved educator, Dr. Larry Alexander, who passed away recently. Dr. Alexander was a Professor and Chief of the Ocular Disease Service at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Optometry (UABSO) for 20 years. According to UABSO, he also participated in private practice, served in many administrative capacities, and performed clinical research in glaucoma, diabetes, hypertension and dry eye.

Dr. Alexander was considered a true advocate of optometry students, and his commitment to optometric education was recognized frequently through teaching awards and accolades given by the UABSO student body. Dr. Alexander was an internationally renowned lecturer and author, and his textbook “Primary Care of the Posterior Segment” has been regarded as an essential reference.

Dr. Alexander was among the UABSO faculty members who worked diligently in the early 1990s to help pass Alabama’s “optometrist drug law,” which gave optometrists the authority to prescribe drugs for the treatment of allergies and infections. He was a 1971 graduate of the Indiana University School of Optometry and a veteran of the United States Navy.

Also: UAB is now accepting applications for its new dual-degree program, OD/MBA, a collaboration between the university’s Collat School of Business and School of Optometry. UAB also offers a dual OD/MPH degree.