Optometrist at Northeastern Eye Institute to Address Drexel’s Pennsylvania College of Optometry Class of 2026 During Commencement

Credit: Joseph P. Shovlin, OD

Joseph P. Shovlin, OD ’80, the senior optometrist at Northeastern Eye Institute in Scranton, Pennsylvania and an adjunct faculty member at his alma mater, the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO) at Drexel University, will deliver the keynote address to the PCO class of 2026.

The ceremony will be held at the Academy of Music, 240 South Broad St., on Thursday, May 21, where 136 students will mark the completion of their studies and training by receiving a doctor of optometry degree in front of family and friends.

Shovlin is a distinguished practitioner of the National Academies of Practice; a diplomate and past chair of the section on cornea, contact lenses and refractive technologies of the American Academy of Optometry (AAO); and past chair of the contact lens and cornea section of the American Optometric Association. Shovlin is also board certified and a diplomate of the American Board of Optometry.

Shovlin is a past president of the AAO and served on several committees within the association, including the continuing education committee, section leadership committee and the board of directors of the AAO Foundation. 

Shovlin received the Presidential Medal of Honor from PCO in 2019 to commemorate its centennial celebration and the Frank Fontana Lifetime Achievement Award by WebMD in 2020. More recently, he received the Tony Adams Eminent Service Award and was inducted into the Academy Hall of Fame at the 100th Anniversary of the AAO in 2022. Among other honors, Shovlin was also listed as one of the top 150 on “America’s Best Eye Doctors” list in 2022 by Newsweek and was inducted into the National Optometric Hall of Fame at Optometry’s Meeting in 2023. 

PCO’s commencement ceremonies will begin at 2 p.m. on Thursday, May 21 at the Academy of Music. For more information, visit: https://drexel.edu/commencement/ceremonies/college-school/optometry