The Ohio State University has selected Jeffrey J. Walline, OD, PhD, as its sixth College of Optometry dean, effective July 1, pending board of trustees approval.

Dr. Walline has spent more than 2 decades on the college’s faculty; he joined in 2005 and rose through the ranks from assistant professor to distinguished professor, a distinction conferred in 2023. He most recently served as associate dean for academic affairs.

Dr. Walline serves as study chair of the Bifocal Lenses in Nearsighted Kids (BLINK and BLINK2) Studies, a landmark National Eye Institute (NEI)-funded initiative examining whether soft multifocal contact lenses can slow myopia progression in young patients. He also co-chairs the Delaying the Onset of Nearsightedness Until Treatment (DONUT) Study, an NEI-sponsored effort to investigate whether low-concentration atropine eye drops can prevent myopia from developing in the first place.

Beyond academia, Dr. Walline has been a tireless advocate for children's eye health in the community. As medical director of the Ohio Optometric Association (OOA)’s Realeyes Program since 2014, he has personally presented to more than 19,500 students in more than 750 central Ohio classrooms.

Dr. Walline also was president of the American Academy of Optometry, served on the US Food and Drug Administration Myopia Control Review Taskforce, and has received numerous honors, including the American Academy of Optometry Foundation William C. Ezell Fellowship, the Global Specialty Lens Symposium Award of Excellence, the OOA Optometrist of the Year award (2018), the American Optometric Association Optometric Educator of the Year (2024), among many others. OM