Scientific Program Held at Duke Eye Center
Leading Eye Specialists Attend Conference
More than 200 eye specialists from
across the nation are attending a two-day
Ophthalmology Conference at the new
Eye Center.
The scientific program, which features
presentations by 22 of the nation's
leading ophthalmologists. Is part of the
three-day opening ceremony for the
center.
The formal dedication was held
Thursday morning in front of the Eye
Center.
The scientific sessions opened today.
in the hospital amphitheater with remarks
by Dr. Joseph A.C. Wadsworth, chairman
of the Department of Ophthalmology,
and Dr. William G. Aniyan, vice president
for health affairs.
Dr. S. D. McPherson, chairman of the
Department of Ophthalmology at
McPherson's Hospital in Durham and
clinical professor and chairman of the
Department of Ophthalmology at the
University of North Carolina School of
Medicine in Chapel Hill, is one of the
guest speakers.
Other guest speakers are Dr. Arthur H.'
Keeney, dean of the University of
Louisville School of Medicine; Dr. Harold
C. Scheie, chairman, director and
professor at Scheie Eye Institute; Dr.
Leonard P. Christensen, associate
professor of opthalmology at University
of Oregon Medical School; Dr. Algernon
B. Reese, clinical emeritus professor of
ophthalmology at Columbia University
College of Physicians and Surgeons.
Dr. Francis Adler, secretary-treasurer
of the American Board of
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VOLUME 20, NUMBER 45
NOVEMBER 9,1973
DURhfAM, NORTH CAROLINA
Dedication Ceremony, Seminar Mark
Formal Opening of Duke Eye Center
Duke's new $3.7 million Eye Center,
the only facility of its kind in this section
of the Southeast, was formally dedicated
Thursday.
The dedication ceremonies are being
followed by a two-day Ophthalmology
Conference which includes talks by some
of the nation's most prominent eye
specialists. (See related story on this
page.)
Participants in the dedication
ceremony included Duke President Terry
Sanford; Vice President for Health Affairs
Dr. William G. Aniyan; and Department
of Ophthalmology Chairman Dr. Joseph
A. C. Wadsworth.
Thursday morning guided tours of the
new facility were conducted for those
attending the ceremony.
(For those who have not yet had a
chance to see the Eye Center, another
conducted tour of the new facility is
scheduled at 9 a.m. next Saturday during
Medical Alumni Weekend.)
The Eye Center is situated across
Erwin Road from the Veterans
Administration Hospital. The three-story
structure includes a 43-bed inpatient unit,
operating rooms, a 22,000-square-foot
outpatient clinic and one complete floor
of research laboratories.
Until the Duke center opened its doors
to patients in August, persons suffering
from serious or unusual eye diseases often
had to be referred to eye centers in New
York, Baltimore, Miami or more distant
places because sophisticated facilities
were not available in this region.
Plans for an eye center at Duke have
been in the works for more than eight
years. The first step came in 1965 when a
separate Department of Ophthalmology
was established under the direction of
Wadsworth.
All of the funds for the building of the
center were received from individuals,
foundations and other private sources. No
government funds or tax money was
used.
The building was designed by Six
Associates of Asheville, and is made of
Duke's traditional Hillsborough stone in
aggregate panels with precast concrete
and steel reinforcement. The Robert H.
Pinnix Co. of Gastonia was the general
contractor.
The ground floor is devoted to
research laboratories and support
facilitfes, including an electron
microscope, an ophthalmologic x-ray
department, a laser operating room, a
photography department, conference
rooms and animal care facilities.
Research carried out here will include
studies on cancer of the eye, corneal
transplantation and diseases that affect
the retina, such as diabetes and macular
degeneration.
The first floor is devoted to clinic
space. It includes the outpatient clinic
with examination and treatment rooms
and offices for the seven staff
ophthalmologists and 12 residents, as well
as additional space for medical students
and postdoctoral fellows.
Also on this floor is a children's clinic,
which provides facilities for the
examination and treatment of congenital
eye defects, infantile glaucoma and
inherited eye tumors. The completion of
(Continued on page 2)
Ophthalmology; Dr. William H. Spencer,
medical director of the Estelle Doheney
Eye Foundation and associate professor
at the University of Southern California;
Dr. J. Harry King, medical director of the
International Eye Foundation; Dr.
William P. McGuire, chief of
ophthalmology and president of
- Winchester Memorial Hospital;
Dr. A. G. DeVoe, professor and
chairman of the Department of
Ophthalmology, Columbia University
College of Physicians and Surgeons; Dr.
Robert N. Shaffer, clinical professor of
ophthalmology. University of California
Medical Center; Dr. Frederick C. Blodi,
chairman of the Department of
Ophthalmology, University Hospitals,
Iowa City; Dr. William F. Hughes,
chairman of the Department of
Ophthalmology, St. Luke's Hospital;
Dr. Robert P. Burns, associate
professor of ophthalmology. University
of Oregon Medical School; Dr. Frank W.
Newell, professor and chairman,
Department of Ophthalmology, Pritzker
School of Medicine, University of
Chicago; Dr. DuPont Guerry III,
professor and chief. Department of
Ophthalmology, Medical School of
Virginia; Dr. Irving Leopold, professor
and chairman. Department of
Ophthalmology, Mt. Sinai School of
Medicine;
Dr. Edward W. D. Norton, professor
and chairman. Department of
Ophthalmology, Bascom-Palmer Eye
Institute; Dr. A. E. Maumenee, director
of Wilmer Institute, Johns Hopkins
Hospital; Dr. David Shoch, professor and
chairman. Department of
Ophthalmology, The Medical School,
Northwestern University; Dr. F. Phinizy
Calhoun,^ professor and chairman.
Department of Ophthalmology, Emory
University School of Medicine; and Dr.
Raynold N. Berke, acting professor of
ophthalmology, Stanford University
Medical Center.
II
n
EYE CENTER DEDICATED—l\\\s is the new $3.7 million Duke Eye Center which was dedicated yesterday. The center, the only
facility of its kind in this region, includes operating rooms, outpatient clinics, a 43-bed inpatient unit and a complete floor of research
laboratories for the study of eye diseases. (Photo by Lewis Parrish)