Elizabeth Wyles, OD, FAAO, has been named Associate Dean for the new College of Optometric Medicine at the University of North Carolina (UNC) Pembroke. The college expects to enroll its first class in the fall of 2027, according to the plan approved by the Board of Governors. “I’m very excited and incredibly honored,” Dr. Wyles says, adding that she’s grateful for the support and commitment from the UNC system and UNC Pembroke.
The role was so appealing that it drew Dr. Wyles in after 19 years with the Illinois College of Optometry (ICO). “The opportunity presented itself. I started learning more and found out exactly how UNCP had positioned the program,” Dr. Wyles says. “They are truly in a place for success.”
The approach focuses on an evolving profession where optometrists must be positioned to contribute as a part of a patient’s health care team. “We’re looking beyond simply a pair of glasses and contact lenses,” Dr. Wyles says. “These are critical components to the profession—our roots. But we are now optometric physicians taking care of the whole wellness of the patient. It’s much more than just the eyes.”
Dr. Wyles brings 25 years of academic experience to the table as they build the curriculum at the College of Optometric Medicine. She looks forward to the college producing excellent optometric physicians who can confidently address issues related to ocular disease, systemic disease and beyond with a contemporary style of practice.
A CAREER COMBINING SCIENCE AND ART
Dr. Wyles worked as an optician while she studied photography and film during her undergraduate years. Then she moved to California to try to break into the film industry, and she found another opticianry job to pay the rent.
She says that she finally took a closer look at optometry when she discovered that the competitive film environment wasn’t a good career match. It was a field where she had enjoyed working for years. “Optometry was right there in front of me. I was looking past it and hadn’t considered it,” she recalls.
Her passion for education began during her fourth year at Southern California College of Optometry in a program called Enhancing. She worked alongside attending ODs and lower classmen. “Education is really a great match for me because it allows me to use the creative side that I didn’t get to fulfill.” It ultimately led her to pursuing a residency with an intention of working in academia. Her work during that residency was focused on hospital-based primary care optometry at the Crownpoint Indian Health Care Facility on the Navajo Nation. Dr. Wyles looks forward to aligning her commitment now to serving the Lumbee and the Eastern North Carolina communities.
A ROLE THAT SHAPED HER FUTURE
A native to Chicago, Dr. Wyles came back home from the west coast and spent nearly two decades of her career at ICO. Most recently, she served as an associate professor at ICO. “I had the opportunity to develop professionally and grow into this type of position,” she says. “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for ICO.”
During her nearly two decades at the Illinois College of Optometry (ICO), Dr. Wyles was deeply involved in curriculum development. This lead to to the creation of innovative courses that advanced the profession, such as Injections for the Optometrist, Minor Surgical Procedures for the Optometrist and Ophthalmic Imaging. She also developed a Simulation Clinic (SimClinic) in collaboration with the Rosenberg School of Optometry. This enabled remote clinical teaching with a focus on clinical reasoning and decision-making.
Her experiences in education spanned to include all areas of instruction including didactic, laboratory and clinical teaching. Dr. Wyles reflected on how fortunate she was to see the students during many phases of their optometric education journey. She taught first-year ocular anatomy. Then she would reconnect with them in the third year to focus on the retina. “It was great to have the students again to start molding their clinical thinking.”
Dr. Wyles proudly attended every ICO commencement ceremony during her time there. She was eager to see her former students walk across that stage. “That process of watching the students grow, learn and develop into professionals is what kept me coming back day after day,” she says. “It kept me up at night to make an activity a little better or an exam question more focused to push them to be the best that they could be.”
FOCUS ON LEADERSHIP
Outside of the classroom where Dr. Wyles has led many students, she is dedicated to leadership within the profession in many ways. She has served on the American Academy of Optometry’s Leadership Task Force. In that role, she contributed to the development of the Merton C. Flom Leadership Academy. This leadership academy was designed to help optometrists develop their full leadership potential through guided individual study. Her professional journey also includes service to the National Board of Examiners in Optometry, Accreditation Council on Optometric Education and the American Optometric Association. She also has been involved in a longstanding commitment to research and scholarly activity.
A NEW JOURNEY
These next few years will be different without classroom interactions with the students, Dr. Wyles says. As she awaits their arrival, Dr. Wyles is enthusiastic about the tasks ahead. The work building a foundational curriculum and faculty will have a grand impact on future College of Optometric Medicine students and the next generation of ODs. “We can develop a culture of clinical, patient care and educational excellence,” she says. “I do believe that this program can be the best in the nation.”
