Brief History of Department of Ophthalmology

The Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine was established as an independent academic unit of the medical school in 1865. The first Chairman of the Department was Dr. Elkanah Williams, one of the first surgeons in the United States to limit his practice to ophthalmology and an early proponent of the ophthalmoscope for ocular examination. The fourth Chairman of the Department, Dr. Derrick T. Vail, Jr., achieved international prominence as Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Ophthalmology and Senior Ophthalmic Consultant for all American Armed Forces in the European Theater of Operations during World War II. Unfortunately for Cincinnati, he relocated to Chicago following the war to become Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology at Northwestern University. The first full-time Chairman of the Department was Dr. Joel Sacks, who served from 1977 through 1994. Dr. Sacks recruited many of the current faculty members and established an ophthalmic research program in the Department. The current director, Dr. James J. Augsburger, is the ninth Chairman of the Department. At the start of Academic Year 2006-2007, the faculty consists of 25 full-time members (19 clinical faculty members, 6 research faculty members) plus multiple part-time, volunteer, visiting, and ancillary members.