A True Visionary

UC Donors Honor One of the Region’s Most Recognizable Names in Eye Care with $2M in Gifts

Gifts allow for full establishment of the Taylor Asbury Endowed Chair in Comprehensive Ophthalmology at UC’s College of Medicine

More than 100 University of Cincinnati donors and friends gathered at the Queen City Club in downtown Cincinnati on Tuesday, March 24, 2015 to celebrate an eye care icon.

Taylor “Tuck” Asbury, MD, was honored as the namesake for the Taylor Asbury Endowed Chair in Comprehensive Ophthalmology at the UC College of Medicine’s Department of Ophthalmology. The chair was established in 2012 but fundraising for it only recently concluded, with more than 100 UC donors giving a combined $2 million to the fund.

“Establishing endowed chairs for the Department of Ophthalmology and UC College of Medicine is of great importance – not only for this university and its students, faculty and staff, but for current and future patients and the Greater Cincinnati community,” said Rodney Grabowski, UC Foundation president. “I am eternally grateful for our generous donors and Dr. Asbury.”

Dr. Asbury’s résumé reads like an awards plaque. He served as chairman of the UC College of Medicine’s Department of Ophthalmology for 11 years and prior to that was the director of the department’s residency training program. Under Dr. Asbury’s leadership, the department was able to gain its first national accreditation, which it maintains to this day.

His impact extends far beyond UC. In 1956, he helped establish the Cincinnati Eye Bank for Sight Restoration, which made it possible for Cincinnati to become a leading center for corneal transplantation. Dr. Asbury served as its medical director for 50 years and was the first eye surgeon to perform corneal transplants in the area. Notably, he is also the co-author of one of the most widely read ophthalmology textbooks of all time, “General Ophthalmology.”

His namesake chair, the Taylor Asbury Endowed Chair in Comprehensive Ophthalmology, will allow for sustainable faculty development, enhance recruitment and retention efforts for talented clinical teachers and acknowledge faculty excellence.

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