Summer 2000 - Indiana University School of Optometry

Jack Winn Bennett, 1932-2000
A Tribute
Earlier this year Optometry mourned the loss of one of its most ardent advocates, Jack W.
Bennett. Anyone who met him would readily note his friendly and jovial Hoosier manner. But
beneath the folksy humor of his Granddaddy Barndollar stories and self-deprecating remarks,
there was an man of insight and of commitment to family and profession.
Jack W. Bennett was born on October 23, 1932 in Bloomington, Indiana. He graduated in 1950
from Bloomington High School. Bennett attended Indiana University from 1950 to 1952. In 1952, he
married Alice Bauer of Bloomington. Alice became an active helpmate to Jack in optometric
activities. For example, she became the president of two state optometric auxiliaries and national
president of the American Foundation for Vision Awareness.
Bennett served as an optical technician in the United States Army for three years during the
Korean War. He returned to Indiana University in 1955, and completed his Bachelor of Science
degree in 1958 and his Master of Optometry degree in 1959.
Bennett practiced optometry in Bloomington from 1959 to 1970. During this period of time he
was also a part-time Clinical Associate in the IU Division of Optometry and was very active in the
Indiana Optometric Association, serving as its president in 1968-1970. In 1970, he left private
practice to become Associate Professor of Optometry at Indiana University, a position he held until
1975. Bennett was Director of Patient Care for the IU Optometry Clinics from 1970 to 1972. While
serving on the IU faculty, Bennett received the
Distinguished Service to Optometry Award from the
Indiana Optometric Association (1974) and Indiana
Optometrist of the Year award (1975).
In 1975 Bennett left Indiana to serve as the Dean for
the new College of Optometry at Ferris State University in
Big Rapids, Michigan. Despite the challenges of a state
economy tied to the auto industry, the school survived and
prospered under Bennett’s leadership. He served Ferris
State in various administrative capacities in addition to
being Dean of the College of Optometry, including
Executive Assistant to the President in 1986-87 and Vice
President for Administrative Affairs in 1987-88. He was
president of the Michigan Association of the Professions in
1986-87 and president of the Association of the Schools
and Colleges of Optometry in 1987-89. While working in
Michigan, Bennett received the Professional Man of the
Year Award from the Michigan Association of the
Professions (1983) and the Keyman Award from the
Michigan Optometric Association (1984).
In August of 1988, Bennett returned to Indiana
University to serve as Dean of the School of Optometry.
Jack W. Bennett
This provided opportunities to return to his roots and to
again attend IU basketball and football games regularly,
as well as to make new contributions to optometry. In the
first issue of the Indiana Journal of Optometry, Bennett looked back on the developments in the IU
School of Optometry during his years as Dean. 1 He noted changes such as restructuring of the
faculty as a unit rather in a departmental structure, the recognition of the need for clinical rank
faculty, the encouragement of practicing optometrists to mentor bright men and women of their
communities concerning optometry as a profession, revision and expansion of the curriculum,
increases in clinical experience opportunities for students, facility upgrades, increased electronic
technology, investments in research, improved relations with alumni, increased activity of faculty in
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