Southern College of Optometry recently announced the addition of Allan Barker to its board of trustees, according to a news release.

Barker practiced optometry in Wilmington and Rocky Mount for several decades. His election comes alongside Charles Glaser and Charles W. Kinnaird. 

“Over the past several decades, Dr. Barker has built a fruitful career around driving forward the optometric profession and serving his patients with the utmost respect and professionalism,” said Lewis Reich, president of SCO, in the release. “Dr. Barker has contributed to major advancements in vision care to better people’s everyday lives. We’re proud to call him an alumnus, and we look forward to bringing his unique perspective and experiences to SCO’s Board of Trustees as we continue our work providing quality education for future optometrists.”

Since earning his Doctor of Optometry from SCO in 1975, Barker has been heavily involved in various optometric studies and industry organizations, the release stated. Practicing optometry in North Carolina, he is a member of the N.C. Optometric Society, for which he served as president in 2009-10, and he was the state director of VOSH/International, also known as Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity, according to the release.

A current member of the American Optometric Association, he served as its charity foundation board president in 2016-17. 

Barker also worked at the Olympic Vision Center for the Lillehammer 1994 Winter Olympics. He published one of the first studies on hyperopic soft contact lenses in 1977, the release stated. In 2019, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from SCO.