Charles F. Mullen

Illinois College of Optometry Recovers from Scandal

New president spearheads the school’s efforts to bounce back from charges of fraud against his predecessor.

In April 1996, the Illinois College of Optometry (ICO) was rocked by scandal. President Boyd Banwell, OD, and chairman of the board of trustees Joseph Ebbesen, OD, resigned under pressure after an internal investigation alleged that the two doctors had worked to defraud the college out of more than $2 million. The school and the Illinois Attorney General filed civil charges against the doctors and Dr. Banwell sued the school, claiming wrongful termination…

The current situation is a far cry from what Dr. Charles F. Mullen, OD, FAAO saw when he came to the campus in December 1997 as acting president after spending 6 years as the Director of Optometry Service for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. “When I arrived, I would say morale was generally low among the faculty and the staff. I would describe the student body as more confused over the issue than having low morale,” he said. “Naturally, there was some initial surprise and concern for the stability and future of the institution,” agreed Michael Chaglasian, OD, chairman of the faculty executive committee.

Faced with the challenge of restoring the reputation of the 125 year old institution, Dr. Mullen brought with him an inclusive style, soliciting opinions from the faculty, administration and even students. His style is a stark contrast to his predecessor’s.

Shortly after Dr. Mullen arrived he began meeting with individual classes on campus to discuss the legal difficulties with students. He now meets monthly with the faculty executive committee, which had not met regularly under the former president. The faculty also now has two representatives on the board of trustees.

Dr. Mullen also introduced a “Prescription for Excellence,” a strategic direction for the faculty, students and college as a whole.

ICO also began informing alumni about the controversy and the positive developments occurring at the college. Efforts to reach out to alumni were well received said Patrick McCallig, ICO’s vice president for institutional advancement. An alumni newsletter was started, and Mr. McCallig began meeting monthly with the president of ICO’s Alumni Council. “The Alumni Council felt that they had been virtually ignored in everything that was going on,” Mr. McCallig said. “Rather than the alumni being put off by this, my sense is they really welcome the opportunity to be involved.”

The college’s renewed focus on its alumni has paid immediate dividends. In the past, ICO had done little in the way of soliciting alumni donations, but in 1998 annual giving to the school increased 100% from the previous year, Dr. Mullen said.

In what some might consider the college’s darkest days, the University of Chicago approached ICO to engage in a wide-ranging affiliation. The university had been interested in this partnership for some time, but could not reach an agreement with the previous administration. “We were actually negotiating this right through all the worst publicity. We now have this in place, and it is working extremely well,” Dr. Mullen said.

Members of the faculty of the University of Chicago’s department of ophthalmology and visual science have been providing clinical education for nine fourth year optometry students per quarter on ICO’s campus and have been staffing the school’s Center for Advanced Eye Care. ICO students have been receiving training at the University of Chicago and its affiliated facilities, and the ICO faculty members have been assigned to work with the University of Chicago’s faculty and ophthalmologic residents. Second-year medical students from the University of Chicago have been taught basic eye care procedures by ICO faculty.

Future endeavors between the schools will include the creation of a joint optometry-Ph.D. degree program combining ICO’s clinical training with the University of Chicago’s research capabilities. The schools are developing the program and funding methods and hope to have them in place within the next 2 years, Dr. Mullen said.

Dr. Mullen also has expanded ICO’s externship program. When he arrived on campus in December 1996, the school had 12 affiliations for students to develop clinical experience with patients while working with optometrists and ophthalmologists outside of classes. ICO now has 76 externship affiliations with health care institutions across the country.

Enrollment at ICO did not drop after the incident, according to Mr. McCallig, and graduating students did not suffer as a result of the negative attention surrounding the institution. ICO’s placement program brings together students and alumni and practices that are adding staff. During the past 5 years, the school has seen increases in the number of inquires from practices, said Mark Colip, OD, dean for student affairs.

To protect the college against problems in the future, Dr. Mullen instructed the school’s administration that it was their responsibility to report directly to the board any action by him or any senior officer that seemed out of line.

ICO has since hired Peat Marwick, a well-known auditing firm, to analyze the school’s books. The college has begun addressing each of the firm’s suggestions, Dr. Mullen said. The school recently refinanced its bonds, and Standard & Poor’s reviewed the college’s financial status and awarded it a preliminary investment grade rating for the bonds. This underscores ICO’s efforts to address its financial policies and controls and to ensure history will not repeat itself, Dr. Mullen said.

Today the incident is almost an afterthought on campus, says the new president. Although he still meets with the college’s attorneys regarding the pending litigation, Dr. Mullen believes the scandal is largely in the past for the school’s students, faculty, alumni, external stockholders and affiliated institutions. “I would say the majority of people have put it behind them,” he said.

Primary Care Optometry News. Volume 3, Number 6. June 1998.
Excerpts of Article written by Chris Rosenberg, Staff Writer.

Inauguration as the Fourth President of the Illinois College of Optometry (Video & Transcript)

Additional Resources: Presidential Farewell Address; Commitment to Excellence; The Road to Excellence

Dr. Mullen’s Inauguration Speech

Delegates, distinguished guests, members of the Board of Trustees, faculty, family members and friends: Thank you so much for attending my inaugural ceremony. You honor the Illinois College of Optometry and you honor me by your presence in this glorious chapel.

I would like to extend a special welcome to my colleagues from distinguished education and health care institutions, many of whom traveled great distances to be with us today. I would also like to thank the representatives of government, the ophthalmic industry and business, whose service in partnership with us has greatly benefited our students and patients. Finally, I would like to thank those who join me on the dais for this ceremony. You do great honor to the college, to the profession of optometry, and to me.

On a personal note, I would like to thank my best critic, my best supporter, and my best friend… my wife Rita. To my children, Elizabeth and Henry, thank you for blessing me with the spirit of respect. And to my extended family, thank you for being with me on this very important day.

I am humbled by this occasion and by the responsibilities that are mine as President of the Illinois College of Optometry. At the same time I am strengthened by the confidence shown in me by entrusting me with this responsibility.

The great educator and founder of Tuskegee University, Booker T. Washington, once observed, “Few things help an individual more than to place responsibility upon him and to let him know that you trust him.”

I am acutely aware of the full extent of the responsibility you have placed upon me, and of the expectations we all share for the college and for the Office of the President.

My spirit is sustained by your trust and support. In return, I pledge to you this day that your trust has not been misplaced. Imbued by your generosity, I pledge to be generous in all things. Buoyed by your support, I pledge to approach every task with a full sense of optimism.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said that the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. I shall endeavor to be worthy of such measurement as he described.

My presidency shall be guided by a simple, but all encompassing principle: to be open, honest, and truthful in all things. We cannot afford to compromise truth, even in the smallest of our actions.

Truth is not relative; it is absolute. Anything less than truth brings conflict with one’s self and among one’s colleagues.

By investing me with the powers of the Presidency of the Illinois College of Optometry you have evidenced your faith that I will be constant to the truth.

To the staff and faculty of ICO, for the pride we justly take in our association with the college – I offer both my congratulations and my thanks. Our mutual commitment to excellence will be our guiding light in these challenging times.

Few would contest that we are in one of the most challenging times in the history of modern health care. But with these challenges come unprecedented opportunities. I am committed to working with you to insure that these challenges become opportunity: For ourselves, for our students, for our profession and for the patients we serve.

Our rewards will be great as our challenges become opportunities. We will see apathy become involvement, adversity turn to advantage, and confrontation into cooperation.

A new culture is being created at ICO. It is a culture that encourages innovation and creativity; it recognizes personal initiative as well as individual and collective accountability. It calls for improved outcomes and heightened productivity. It is a culture that demands we be models of ethical behavior and integrity, for nothing less is acceptable. It is a culture committed to growth and improvement.

To sustain this new culture we must have a new vision for ICO.

In all that we do – in education, in research, in patient care – we must be dedicated to a concept that is contained in a single word. That word is “excellence.” We must strive for excellence in all we do; we must accept nothing less as our goal.

Excellence is not easily obtained. But neither is it an esoteric concept that is only referred to at commencements and… at Presidential Inaugurals.

Although difficult to obtain, excellence is real and can be both achieved and sustained. It is achieved through a detailed and carefully drafted plan. Excellence is sustained by the implementation of a plan that contains quantifiable measurement and timetables.

We have such a plan at ICO. We call it our “Prescription for Excellence.”

First and foremost, our prescription for excellence requires accountability. Education, patient care, and research must be accountable to, and managed with, performance expectations and outcome measures. The Prescription for Excellence provides a road map for future growth. Educational offerings must emphasize areas of greatest societal need, not only in the short term, but also over the career of our students. We must be open to academic and clinical affiliations that are fair and equitable… providing our faculty with full recognition and meaningful roles with the affiliated institutions. Programs of education and research must be integrated with patient care. We must recognize that effective communication will be the cornerstone upon which our commitment to excellence will rest.

But we must also recognize that to be effective we must free our faculty and our clinicians from unnecessary administrative functions, so they can focus on their primary responsibilities: Education and Patient Care.

We will achieve a position of prominence by remaining true to the pursuit of excellence.

The genesis of America’s revolution in health care is found in a quest for value. No longer will consumers of health care accept results without measurement or costs without discernable outcomes. The principles of managed care that are embodied in expectations of efficiency and accountability are embedded across the spectrum of health care today, whether in the guise of managed care or in some other form. We must selectively adopt these principles to improve our effectiveness and our efficiency of operations.

In demanding accountability we serve not only our patients but also our students. Only in the context of an efficient, high quality delivery system can students and residents receive high quality clinical experience. Only in a high quality educational environment can our alumni receive the continuing education they require to remain at the forefront of their profession.

The Illinois college of Optometry will be characterized by exceptional accountability, measurable in clear and understandable terms. High performing institutions are defined by high levels of individual and collective accountability, and at ICO we can accept no less if we are to sustain excellence.

We must keep our prescription for excellence ever before us, and empower our faculty and staff to do whatever is necessary to translate words into reality. We must maintain an environment that is committed to the principles of equal opportunity and free from any form of discrimination whatsoever as we embrace and support one another as colleagues.

We have begun our preparations for the next century. As we continue to do so we stand on a firm foundation built by those who went before us. We do so knowing that the rate of change and innovation we have experienced in this century, as great as it has been, will pale by comparison to what will be experienced by our students and residents. We owe it to them and to the patients they will serve, to see to it that the Illinois College of Optometry remains faithful to a commitment to excellence by remaining in the vanguard of change. We must aggressively seek out new alliances. Embrace new areas of research, and pioneer new methods of teaching, always with excellence as our measurement of success.

The Challenge that we take upon ourselves is tremendous.

It is a challenge that no individual could, or should, accept alone. With your continued support I pledge to you that ICO will make a significant contribution to guiding optometry into the next century.

My tenure as president at the Illinois College of Optometry officially begins this day. As important as this day is to myself and my family, a far more important day will be the day I turn the mace of office over to the next president, for it will be on that day that full measure of my administration will be taken. It will not be for me to determine what yardstick others will use, but I can tell you that for myself I shall measure our years together not by what we have gained, but by what we have given to others.

Ours is a great challenge, and a great opportunity. I am both humbled and grateful for the confidence you have placed in me this day. I look forward to working with you all in our continuing pursuit of excellence in the months and years ahead.

I thank you for honoring the college, my family and myself by your presence here today.

May God bless you all.

Thank you.

Illinois College of Optometry and University of Chicago Affiliation Agreement

Official Press Release

On October 16, 1997, the Illinois College of Optometry (ICO) and the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science at the University of Chicago held a ceremonial signing of an affiliation agreement that brings together the educational and patient care resources of both teams of eye care providers.

The agreement, only the second of its kind in the United States, brings together faculty from separate, often competing, professions.

This affiliation emphasizes the complementary roles of each profession. It is intended to increase mutual awareness, improve and expand the training of both types of providers, and coordinate and enhance patient care.

“This far-reaching and quite unusual cooperative agreement brings together the disciplines of optometry and ophthalmology in a productive and rational way,” said Charles F. Mullen, OD, president of ICO. “Optometry students and residents, medical students, and ophthalmology residents will train side by side, learning a new respect and appreciation for each other’s disciplines.”

“The best eye care requires cooperation between doctors providing that care at multiple levels,” said Terry Ernest, MD, PhD, chairman of Ophthalmology and Visual Science at the University of Chicago. “As technology advances and financial pressures multiply, the optimal system for providing the broad range of eye care has grown beyond the scope of any single provider.”

Under this cooperative agreement, which has been in practice since September 1, 1997, University of Chicago faculty will teach and faculty physicians and residents will see patients who may require specialty care at the Illinois Eye Institute, the College of Optometry’s clinical facility.

The affiliation will expand training and clinical experience for students in each program. Students from ICO will come to the University for scientific and clinical training.

The two institutions will also create a joint OD/ PhD program, which will prepare optometrists to combine their clinical practice with eye care research.

Optometrists spend four years in optometry school, after college, studying the diagnosis and treatment of common eye diseases. Ophthalmologists spend four years in medical school, followed by another four to six years of specialized training as residents. Students in the OD/PhD program will combine four years of optometry training with three or more years of study of the basic science of vision and complete a substantial research project in their specialty area.

The only similar agreement was arranged between the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO) and Hahnemann University in Philadelphia in 1988. At that time Dr. Mullen was executive director of PCO’s Eye Institute.

By combining the strengths of each profession, the Illinois affiliation pulls together a range of providers that is ideally suited for the emerging competitive environment of managed care. Primary eye care will be provided by the ICO’s network of optometrists. More complex cases, such as corneal or retinal surgery, will be treated by sub-specialists at the University.

“This arrangement provides the patients of the Illinois Eye Institute and the University of Chicago Hospitals with a closed loop for all eye care needs,” added Dr. Mullen, “from routine exams to the most complicated surgical problems.”

The combined programs now handle nearly 70,000 patient visits per year, more than 45,000 at ICO and another 20,000, including the most complex cases, at the University.

Both institutions are not-for profit. Each will retain autonomy over its operations and finances.

The University of Chicago Office of Medical Center Communications

Illinois College of Optometry and University of Chicago Affiliation Agreement Speech

Thank you all for being present today. We are here to recognize, and celebrate, a truly auspicious day for the Illinois College of Optometry, for the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science at the University of Chicago, for the professions of optometry and ophthalmology, for our students, residents and alumni, but perhaps most of all, for our patients.

The decision to enter into an arrangement with the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science at the University of Chicago – a decision in which, I might add, Dr. Ernest played a major and always productive role – was finalized in July. In essence, therefore, today we are taking time to acknowledge that which has already occurred.

It is altogether fitting that we should do so, for this is truly a significant moment in our history as a college and in our careers as ophthalmic practitioners. The ceremonial documents to which we will soon be affixing our signatures are reflective of a legal agreement that delineates perimeters for coordinating clinical, medical, educational and research programs between our two institutions. Among the benefits of our collaboration will be the creation of an O.D./Ph.D. Program, increased opportunities for collaborative research, shared lecturers and an expanded clinical base.

However, today’s celebration does not blur the distinctions between our institutions or our disciplines. We each have our respective roles and importance. Today’s celebration reaffirms the natural synergism between optometry and ophthalmology.

The true significance of the affiliation we celebrate today will be found in its impact upon those we serve. Through this agreement we will create an educational system that fosters a better understanding of the disciplines of optometry and ophthalmology by those who will treat tomorrow’s patients. It will help further narrow the gap between our knowledge and the needs of our patients. Our affiliation will produce better optometrists and better ophthalmologists, and it is the patients who will benefit.

That is the true significance of what we celebrate today.

Dr. Charles F. Mullen
Affiliation Ceremony Speech
October 11, 1997