Alumni News
Optometry
General News
Joseph Shovlin, OD ‘80, FAAO, has many fond memories from his time as a student at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO).
Like the time during his first day in clinic at The Eye Institute, PCO’s clinical facility, when a classmate examining a patient got a pressure reading of 24 and excitedly shouted out to everyone, “Oh my God, glaucoma!” Well, that caused the poor lady to pass out, Dr. Shovlin recalled, even though it was later determined that she didn’t have glaucoma.
Dr. Shovlin has come full circle now, from a PCO student to adjunct professor to now delivering the keynote address at his alma mater’s commencement ceremony at 2 p.m. Thursday, May 21, 2026, at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia.
“I am thrilled to be invited to deliver the keynote, but my first thought was, ‘Why me?’ Being able to deliver a graduation keynote is both a massive honor and responsibility,” said Dr. Shovlin. “I hope to use the platform to deliver a meaningful message to the new graduates. The goal is to be a helpful peer.”
And, he is indeed a helpful peer. Dr. Shovlin was recently named “Preceptor of the Year” at PCO’s annual preceptors’ fair.
“Receiving the Preceptor of the Year Award has significant relevance for me because this is what I enjoy the most,” he said. “Being able to work with our younger ‘soon to be’ colleagues has been quite rewarding for me. I learn too, since they bring new thoughts and ideas to the practice. I just hope they learn something from their experience with us.”
For those who know Dr. Shovlin, have been taught by him, and have worked with him, it’s easy to see why he is eminently qualified to deliver the commencement keynote. He is a distinguished practitioner of the National Academy of Practice, diplomate, and past chair of the Section on Cornea, Contact Lenses and Refractive Technologies of the American Academy of Optometry and past chair of the Contact Lens and Cornea Section of the American Optometric Association (AOA). He is board-certified and a diplomate of the American Board of Optometry.
In addition, Dr. Shovlin, a senior optometrist for Vision Innovation Partners at Northeastern Eye Institute in Scranton, Pennsylvania, is a past president of the American Academy of Optometry (AAO) and has served on several committees within the Academy, including the Continuing Education Committee, Section Leadership Committee, and the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Optometry Foundation.
He has received several honors and awards, including the American Optometric Association’s CLCS Achievement Award (2008), the Albert Fitch Memorial Alumnus of the Year recipient for PCO (2011), and the Legend Award of the Contact Lens and Cornea Section of the AOA (2012). He was the recipient of the National Academies of Practice James A. Boucher Award (2018) and was named the National Optometrist of the Year by the National Keratoconus Foundation (NKCF) (2018). He received the Presidential Medal for PCO (2019) at its centennial celebration, the Frank Fontana Lifetime Achievement Award by WebMD (2020), and recently received the Tony Adams Eminent Service Award and was inducted into the Academy Hall of Fame at the 100th Anniversary of the AAO (2022). He has been listed as one of the top 150 America’s Best Eye Doctors by Newsweek (2022) and was recently inducted into the National Hall of Fame at Optometry’s Meeting (2023). He has also served on advisory panels for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the Contact Lens Infection Workgroup; the National Advisory Eye Council (NAEC); and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on its Ophthalmic Devices Panel.
Dr. Shovlin said he will try to avoid “reach for the stars” tropes during his address and give students advice he hopes they can use. “I’ll stress that a successful career can be measured in many ways and how best to focus on providing excellent care,” he said.
For example, Dr. Shovlin knows what it means to be an optometrist from PCO and to have a long and meaningful career serving one’s community.
“A PCO education provides the needed foundation for success. Being an optometrist is a unique blend of high-level clinical science and deeply personal community service,” he said. “It’s a profession that sits at the intersection of primary healthcare, rehabilitation, and enhancing quality of life. From a clinical standpoint, being an optometrist means being the front line of eye health. It’s been a wonderful journey for me, and I don’t think I’m ready to stop quite yet.”
