NEW YORK CITY – Dr. Kovin Naidoo, chief executive officer of the Brien Holden Vision Institute (Australia), will receive the honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the State University of New York (SUNY) College of Optometry for making lasting contributions to eye and vision care. He will join the College’s graduating class on Thursday, May 24, at the Roosevelt Hotel in midtown Manhattan during the 2018 commencement ceremony.
Dr. Naidoo is an academic, former anti-apartheid activist and political prisoner, optometrist, and an internationally celebrated public health leader. He is dedicated to expanding public sector eye care services throughout the developing world and founded Our Children’s Vision, a global campaign to reach 50 million children by 2020.
Moreover, Dr. Naidoo developed a comprehensive and sustainable service delivery model, which shifts the primary responsibility for refractive services and blindness prevention from private sector professionals to community eye and health care workers, making eye care affordable and accessible to underserved patients. He previously served as the head of optometry at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, with which SUNY Optometry has forged a partnership and expanded SUNY’s global presence.
Dr. Naidoo holds degrees from the University of New South Wales (PhD), Pennsylvania College of Optometry (OD), Temple University (MPH), and the former University of Durban Westville, now the University of KwaZulu-Natal (BS, BO).
