Campaign Focus Areas

The Herbert Wertheim School is uniquely positioned to transform optometry and vision science. Our potential to drive research innovation and discovery is far-reaching. Our primary care clinics and our wide-range of specialty clinics, which address areas such as myopia control, medical optometry, specialty contact lenses, pediatrics, sports vision, traumatic brain injury, low vision, vision therapy, and neurorehabilitation, will continue to develop and provide outstanding clinical care.

Focus Areas

The Our Vision, Our Future Campaign, will focus on the following critical initiatives:

The Future of Optometry
We will invest in new, state-of-the-art simulation labs, and infuse cutting-edge innovations in evidence-based clinical practice to ensure that we are training optometrists capable of practicing to the highest national and global standards and who are ready to take their place as an essential component of the primary health care team.

Children’s Vision
We are committed to a novel model of integrated, multidisciplinary, optometry led, children’s eye care and vision health, which will play a key role in training the future pediatric optometry workforce and establish new standards of children’s eye and vision care. In addition, Berkeley Vision CURE (Children’s Uncorrected Refractive Error), and its key program One School at a Time, was launched as a global effort in partnership with federal and international agencies and organizations, with the aim of correcting all children’s refractive error by 2050.

Expanded Patient Care, a network of clinics and institutions
The Herbert Wertheim School of Optometry & Vision Science will establish clinics throughout the University of California. This will create a systemwide network of eye care and vision health clinics capable of meeting the challenges of health care systems, dramatically increase the number of residency placements, provide excellent internship opportunities, and strive towards financial independence. We will also partner on research initiatives with UC campuses and other members of the Wertheim Family of Institutions.

Funding the Future of Vision Research
Situated at the world’s preeminent public research institution, the school will draw on the breadth and depth of Berkeley’s research strength. Our globally renowned faculty will explore a wide array of research questions, helping us to better understand how we see, why our sense of vision may fail, and what corrective measures we could employ to address vision loss. Scientific breakthroughs in our vision science labs have the potential for immediate translation into professional practice by our graduates.