Brianne N. Hobbs, OD, PhD, FAAO, has been named Dean of the Chicago College of Optometry (CCO) at Midwestern University. She stepped into this new position in August 2025. This career move was particularly special, she says. “It’s coming full circle—the opportunity to return to the university where I started my career. That is so meaningful to me.”
Dr. Hobbs is eager to contribute to the CCO program in an ever-evolving profession alongside Interim President and Chief Executive Officer Joshua Baker, OD. “The college is really poised for growth in this next chapter,” she says. “I’m excited about the future of the program and bringing my skills and experience. We want to create an environment where students and faculty can thrive.”
Dr. Hobbs shared with Women In Optometry how each piece of her career puzzle has prepared her for her current role as Dean.
PATHWAY TO OPTOMETRIC EDUCATION
Anne Ream, OD, was an influential mentor, leading Dr. Hobbs to pursue optometry. While Dr. Hobbs didn’t need eyeglasses, her sister did and Dr. Ream was her optometrist. “Growing up, I noticed the impact of having glasses for my sister and how positive her interactions with Dr. Ream were. When I began considering optometry as a career, it was a natural fit to reach out to Dr. Ream and she was gracious enough to let me shadow her.” Dr. Hobbs ultimately attended Dr. Ream’s alma mater—University of Missouri-St. Louis College of Optometry—and graduated in 2010.
Dr. Hobbs says her love of education came from her mom, a middle school math teacher. “I grew up watching my mom devote herself to teaching; it was something that she loved and that she was incredibly skilled at. Her enthusiasm for teaching was inspirational; I grew up loving education,” says Dr. Hobbs. That passion for education evolved during optometry school and Dr. Hobbs realized her future would combine education and optometry. “The thought of ever being ‘finished’ with school was hard for me to imagine. I couldn’t envision a future that was not connected to education,” she says. “In my second year, I realized I could have both—optometry and education. From that point on, that was the path. I just loved it inherently and committed to it wholeheartedly.”
DECISIONS FOR HER FUTURE
As part of her commitment to becoming an educator, Dr. Hobbs chose her residency based on its emphasis on teaching. “I was lucky enough to rotate through the Kansas City VA Medical Center for three months as a student. Tim Harkins, OD, was able to teach us not simply how to diagnose and treat ocular disease, but he helped us create an infrastructure for how to think about patient care and decision-making. When it was time to select my residency, I asked myself which residency would prepare me to be the best educator I could be. That answer was clear—spending a year learning how to teach from Dr. Harkins.” Dr. Hobbs credits Dr. Harkins with shaping her teaching philosophies and preparing her for her entry into academia.
ARRIVING IN ACADEMIA
When Dr. Hobbs joined the faculty at Arizona College of Optometry at Midwestern University in July 2011, the school was getting ready to present its third-year curriculum for the first time. “It felt like such an incredible opportunity to really help build the school and set the course for the entire program moving forward,” she says. “To create a new course and teach it—that was something I had always wanted to do.”
She later helped build a different aspect of the program by serving as the Director of Residencies. In this role, she led the development of the internal and external residency programs. Reflecting on her early career chapter at Midwestern University, Dr. Hobbs stated, “I remember during my interview I said that being a faculty member at AZCOPT was my dream job-and it was. I loved every aspect of the job and the people I got to work alongside. Those early years at AZCOPT created the foundation for my entire career.”
DIRECTING INNOVATION
In 2019, Dr. Hobbs was intrigued by the challenge of a new opportunity which would allow her to innovate in a different way and to have an impact on a national level. A new position, Director of Exam Innovation, was created by the National Board of Optometry Examiners (NBOE). The role involved leading the development of the new Part III Patient Encounters and Performance Skills (PEPS). The position had many elements that were appealing to Dr. Hobbs. “This was a unique opportunity to innovate, to find a way to do things better. I’m always looking for that. I also had the chance to learn about assessment deeply, to be a part of a national effort to create an exam that would impact our profession, and to work with a group of incredibly talented and dedicated volunteers and staff members.”
In describing the exam development process, Dr. Hobbs said, “It was a big challenge, but that’s never been a deterrent for me. I like to do hard things. They are more meaningful and have more of an impact.”
BACK TO THE VA
By 2021, Dr. Hobbs felt she had been away from direct interaction with students for too long. She accepted a position at W.G. (Bill) Hefner Salisbury Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, known for its excellent clinical education program for students and residents. She ultimately moved into a clinical leadership role there, serving as Assistant Chief of the optometry service. “It was a great opportunity to dive back into the clinical side of optometry, to be a part of a great team of clinicians and teachers, and to gain administrative experience at one of the largest VA optometry services in the country.”
CURRICULUM CREATION
Dr. Hobbs most recently joined the team at High Point University School of Optometry in January 2024 as the Associate Dean of Academics. Together with Catherine Heyman, OD, and Corina van de Pol, OD, PhD, they worked through building an optometry program from the ground up. “We looked across the profession and put everything on the table. We asked, ‘Do we still need to be teaching this?’ and ‘What do we need to add?’” Dr. Hobbs says. “Optometry is not the same as it was 10 years ago or even a year ago and we worked hard to develop a curriculum that would prepare students to be successful as the profession continues to evolve.” Her time at the High Point University School of Optometry provided her experience in multiple areas that extended beyond curriculum development including faculty recruitment, accreditation, interdisciplinary collaboration and clinical operations.
RETURN TO MIDWESTERN
Dr. Hobbs recalls being hired 14 years ago in Arizona and the feeling that she had secured her dream job. That emotion returned when she rejoined the team with Midwestern University this summer. “My dream job has evolved over time. I’m so incredibly excited and grateful to have this opportunity.”
She’s already working closely with the faculty, focused on their success, happiness and vitality. She spent two years studying this topic for her PhD dissertation. She closely examined the intersection between productivity and engagement in job satisfaction. “In larger professions, there are more studies that look at faculty specifically. But there are far fewer publications focused on optometry faculty,” she says. “I wanted to understand how to best support faculty members at schools and colleges of optometry and to identify the barriers to their success. The research I conducted during my PhD program has directly prepared me to support faculty in my current role.”
Dr. Hobbs has many goals and aspirations, including initiatives such as starting a residency program to creating stronger synergies between the Chicago and Arizona campuses.
Dr. Hobbs says her path to academic leadership may look a bit non-traditional. Yet each setting has been a part of the puzzle that led her to where she is today. “All of those pieces have come together to give me a well-rounded perspective on education,” she says. “I feel really fortunate for each phase of my career and for all the opportunities to learn and evolve. I have a sense of peace because I believe I am right where I am supposed to be and I have a feeling this next chapter is going to be the brightest yet.”
