Our History

Emory Eye Center traces its roots to a time when the practice of ophthalmology was just beginning in the South—and in the United States. The year was 1872.

In 1854, Abner W. Calhoun, the region's first eye and ear specialist came to Atlanta Medical College, which was established by his father, Andrew B. Calhoun. The college became Emory University School of Medicine in 1915. As the only scientifically trained ophthalmologist south of Maryland, Dr. Abner Calhoun was the specialist of choice for many a Southerner with a serious eye problem before the turn of the twentieth century.

The early 20th century

Abner Calhoun served as faculty president from 1900 until 1910. He and industrialist Andrew Carnegie provided funds to construct a medical college building that later became part of Grady Memorial Hospital, which remains today as a training ground for Emory residents.

From 1910 until 1940, Abner's son, F. Phinizy Calhoun, Sr., was department chair, earning a reputation as one of the region's leading ophthalmologists. His successor, Grady Clay, served as department chairman from 1940 until 1946.  Clay developed an academic program for ophthalmology students and for eye, ear, nose and throat resident physicians.

Mid-century innovations

In 1940 Drs. Clay and Phinizy Sr.'s son, Phinizy Calhoun, Jr. (photograph on left), organized an ophthalmic pathology laboratory, one of only a handful of laboratories of its kind in the country. The junior Calhoun went on to serve as department chairman from 1946 until 1978. During his tenure, he helped open an eye bank to serve patients in the Southeast needing cornea transplants. The eye bank was the fifth ever established in the U.S. 

Phinizy Jr. is credited with bringing modern ophthalmology to Georgia. He was the first eye doctor in the state to perform surgery under a microscope and the first in the Southeast to perform a corneal transplant. Colleagues regarded him one of the best trained ophthalmic pathologists in the country during the 1950s and 1960s, when the subspecialty was beginning to develop. During his many years at Emory, he helped train more than 100 ophthalmologists who now practice across the country.

Broadening the scope

From 1978 to 1986 H. Dwight Cavanagh, MD, PhD, succeeded Dr. Calhoun as chairman of Emory Eye Center (EEC). Under his leadership and fundraising efforts, the faculty was expanded significantly, a new building was erected (now Clinic B), and a basic science research program was initiated. 

In 1980 The National Eye Institute selected EEC to direct the PERK (Prospective Evaluation of Radial Keratotomy) study, the largest and most comprehensive clinical investigation of radial keratotomy. 1985 EEC was dedicated in a new, five-story building on the Emory University campus. In celebration, the Eye Center invited 45 guest faculty from across the country to speak at a special ophthalmology scientific symposium. From 1986 to 1988 Louis A.Wilson, MD, became interim chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology. In 1988, Thomas M. Aaberg, Sr., MD, was selected to chair the Department of Ophthalmology and director of EEC. Under his watch, the Eye Center experienced a growth in staff, physicians and an increase in rankings, taking its place among the very best eye centers in the country.

January 2008

Emory announced that Timothy W. Olsen, MD, of the University of Minnesota was tapped as new director of EEC in January 2008. He holds the F. Phinizy Calhoun Sr. Chair. Dr. Olsen combines a keen interest in research with an active clinical and surgical practice in retinal diseases/disorders.

"Dr. Aaberg, I think you may have just saved my vision."

These are the first words of patient John Schafer after his eye patch is removed following an operation at Emory University Hospital the day before. Dr. Thomas Aaberg, former chair of the department, performed a vitrectomy on Schafer for a vitreous hemorrhage caused by diabetic retinopathy.

Read a comprehensive history in Emory Eye Center:  Our History