Top-drawer advisory board for Deakin

Patrick Lockie, Tim Fricke, Harrison Weisinger, Garry Fitzpatrick, Jason Holland, Ian Bluntish and Chris Beer
Deakin University’s optometry department has held its inaugural advisory board meeting, bringing together a seingly incongruous, but top-drawer, mix of stakeholders.
In attendance on the day were Luxottica CEO, Chris Beer; Optometry Board of Australia mbers Garry Fitzpatrick (Western Australia) and Ian Bluntish (South Australia) who is also president of Optometry Association Australia’s ProVision buying and marketing group; The Optical Superstores professional services director, Jason Holland; Geelong ophthalmologist Patrick Lockie (Deakin is located at Geelong); rural champion Phil Anderton and Tim Fricke from the Australian College of Optometry. The only apology was David Lau, executive director of the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital.
The head of Deakin’s optometry department, Harry Weisinger declared the meeting a success: “I never had any doubt that the group would be able to work together to provide advice on key issues, such as clinical placents, in order to make Deakin one of the world’s greatest optometry programs. They are all suprely-professional, highly-competent board mbers”.
Deakin has announced that it will enrol up to 50 optometry students next year through VTAC, the Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre. A second cohort of graduate entry students will commence from 2013.