Alumni Elected to AOA Board of Trustees
Two SCCO Alumni have been elected to the American Optometric Association's (AOA's) Board of Trustees. Class of 1978 Alumnus Ronald L. Hopping, O.D., M.P.H., was elected Vice President and Mitchell T. Munson, O.D., SCCO Class of 1986, was elected Secretary-Treasurer. The election was held at the 113th Annual AOA Congress and 40th Annual American Optometric Student Association Conference: Optometry's Meeting® June 2010.
Ronald L. Hopping, O.D., M.P.H, '78, was elected Vice President of the American Optometric Association at the 113th Annual AOA Congress & 40th Annual AOSA Conference: Optometry’s Meeting® June 2010. Dr. Hopping was first elected to the American Optometric Association Board of Trustees in June 2005, re-elected in June 2008, elected Secretary-Treasurer in 2009.
In addition to his responsibilities as Vice President, Dr. Hopping is Speaker of the House Pro Tem and a member of the AOA Executive and Investment Committees. His board liaison assignments include the Clinical & Practice Advancement Group, the Insurance Committee, the College of Optometrists in Vision Development and affiliate associations in Washington D.C., Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and New York.
Prior to his election to the Board, Dr. Hopping served as chair of the AOA Information and Member Services Group and the AOA Communications Group Advisory Committee. He also served on the Healthy Eyes Healthy People Oversight Committee. He is a charter member of the AOA Contact Lens and Cornea Section and Sports Vision Section. He has served as a full-time faculty member with the rank of Assistant Professor at the University of Houston College of Optometry. Dr. Hopping served as President of the Texas Optometric Association in 1996.
Dr. Hopping is a 1978 graduate of the Southern California College of Optometry and has a Masters in Public Health from the University of Texas. He has received President’s Awards for Outstanding Service from 10 different state presidents and was recognized as Texas Optometrist of the Year 2002. Dr. Hopping received the Outstanding Faculty Award at the University of Houston College of Optometry. Dr. Hopping is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry, a Diplomate in Cornea and Contact Lenses and is recognized as a Distinguished Practitioner by the National Academies of Practice.
Dr. Hopping is in private practice with his spouse, Desiree Hopping, O.D., and two associates in the Clear Lake area of Houston, Texas.
Mitchell T. Munson, O.D., was elected Secretary–Treasurer of the American Optometric Association at the 113th Annual AOA Congress & 40th Annual AOSA Conference: Optometry’s Meeting® June 2010.
In addition to his duties as Secretary–Treasurer, Dr. Munson serves as chair of the Constitution and Bylaws and Finance Committees. He is also a member of the Executive and Investment Committees. Dr. Munson’s liaison assignments include the Third Party Center, Sports Vision Section and the Optical Laboratories Association. He is also liaison to affiliate associations in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.
Prior to his election to the Board, Dr. Munson spent 10 years in the AOA volunteer structure serving on the AOA New Technologies Committee, Statutory Scope Committee and the AOA Political Action Committee where he served as chair from 2003-2004.
In 1992, he was elected to the Colorado Optometric Association (COA) Board of Trustees and elected president in 1995. The COA named him Young Optometrist of the Year in 1993 and Optometrist of the Year in 1996. He was presented with COA’s Distinguished Service Award in 2001.
Dr. Munson is a past president of the Southwest Council of Optometry and a Fellow in the American Academy of Optometry.
A 1986 graduate of the Southern California College of Optometry, Dr. Munson has a group practice in Highlands Ranch, CO, with his wife and classmate, Susan Brunnett, O.D.