The mission of the School of Optometry is to protect, advance, and promote the vision, eye care, and health of people worldwide by preparing individuals for careers in optometry, the ophthalmic industry, and vision science, and by advancing knowledge through teaching, research, and service. This will be accomplished through the Doctor of Optometry, Optician/Technician, Residency, and Graduate Programs.

The vision of the School of Optometry is to be at the leading edge of vision care for the people of the world.

The goals of the School of Optometry focus on six areas:

• Teaching. To be recognized for excellence and leadership in teaching.
• Patient care. To supply students with sufficient numbers, diversity, and quality of patient experiences that will provide them with the clinical education to become efficient in performing patient care. At the same time, the goal is to provide timely, appropriate, and quality care to the patients.
• Research. To increase the research activity of our faculty and students, to improve the research profile of the faculty and school, and to be a recognized leader in vision science and vision health research.
• Service. To increase the service activity of our faculty, staff, and students; to be recognized nationally/internationally as a leader in service to the profession and vision science; and to have a level of service within the university and community to be recognized as outstanding citizens.
• Facilities. To have state-of-the-art physical facilities and equipment that create an integrative approach to education, research, training, and service delivery.
• Finances. To maintain funding that allows for sufficient faculty and staff, continued growth, up-to-date facilities, and the ability to take advantage of opportunities that arise.