Awards

School of Optometry Foley House Basement Key Award - 1980

National Academies - 1958

American Association for the Advancement of Science

About Gordon Heath

Although Dr.Gordon Heath was born in Sultan, Washington, he considered himself a native Californian because he had moved there with his family at the age of five. In 1940, he attended the University of California at Berkeley to pursue a degree in chemical engineering. The beginning of World War II changed his plan. He joined the US Naval Reserve's V-12 program, attended Los Angeles City College, Peru (Nebraska) State Teachers College, and Northwestern University in Chicago, where he graduated from Midshipmen's School with a commission as Ensign. Near the end of the war, with the rank of Lieutenant, his ship was sent to Shanghai, where he was appointed its Commanding Officer.

He enrolled at the University of Southern California in 1946 and joined the Los Angeles College of Optometry in 1948, where he completed a BVS in 1950 and OD in 1951. He enrolled in the graduate program in Physiological Optics at the University of California, Berkeley in the fall of 1951 and received his PhD in 1960.

Dr. Heath joined the Indiana University faculty in 1955, where he served as the Director of the Optometry Clinic from 1955 to 1960. He was the Director of the Graduate Program in Physiological Optics from 1960-1970, and then became Director of the Division of Optometry. Under his guidance, the Division of Optometry was given School status in 1975 and he was appointed Dean, a position he held until mid- 1988. Throughout the 1980s Heath continually expanded Indiana's research program to include neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, and cellular molecular biology, in addition to the more traditional research programs in psychophysics and clinical optometry. Many of his graduate students have gone on to become associate deans, deans and presidents of other optometry institutions across the United Stated and throughout the world.

Dr. Heath's research interests centered on color vision and photoreceptor directionality. He was a respected scientist, and published prolifically early in his career. He coauthored two books: The Eye and Sight and Form and Space Vision. As a university administrator, he published many papers related to both the future and the scope of the profession, as well as curriculum concerns for a rapidly expanding profession.

From 1963 to 1965, Dr. Heath served as President of the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry. He was President of the American Academy of Optometry in 1983 and 1984. He was appointed research consultant to the Office of the Surgeon General of the Army and was a member of the National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council Committee on Vision. He served on the Advisory Council for Health Professions, the National Advisory Eye Council, and the National Eye Institute, NIH. In 1980, Dr. Heath was presented with the Indiana University School of Optometry Foley House Basement Key Award which recognizes an alumnus who has demonstrated exceptional dedication and/or service to the IU School of Optometry.

Among Heath's many recognitions are: a Life Fellowship in the American Academy of Optometry; Annual Gordon G. Heath Fellowship Award (Indiana Chapter, American Academy of Optometry); President, American Academy of Optometry (1983 - 1984); President, Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (1963-1965), where he also served on the Board of Directors (1970-1988); Outstanding Service Award, the Missouri Optometric Association (1970); and Distinguished Service to Optometry Award, Indiana Optometric Association (1988).