My dad commuted to work in Lower Manhattan, New York City, every day of his life. He was an engineer for Ebasco Services. His company was one of the first tenants of the then-new World Trade Center. In the late '60s, I saw the World Trade Center begin construction as a hole in the ground. I was in grade school at that time, and I distinctly remember it. Most of the building was empty when my dad's company moved in, and they got a great deal on the space, because people thought it was a folly to build a building of that size.

Ebasco was on the 80th-something floor, and he used to tell me about how the building swayed — he was very sensitive to movement — and that's where he worked while I was growing up. My father’s company designed nuclear power plants. His company was eventually swallowed up by many larger companies.

My mom, who is now 93, was a stay-at-home mom. She was born in Berlin and is a Holocaust survivor. As a child, she was sent to live in Denmark, where she grew up. When she was 19, she was caught by the Nazis and sent to the Terezin concentration camp in Czechoslovakia. She was there from 1943 until 1945, and was liberated on a Friday the 13th, just before the war was over. She was 21 years old.

After she was liberated, my mother went back to Denmark, not knowing if any of her family was still alive. Eventually, the family members who had survived, tracked her down and told her to join them in the Bronx, in the United States. She went. She met my father during a weekend for singles in the Catskill Mountains — the equivalent of today's online dating, I suppose. But they met because they had the same last name — very unusual. My father was paged for a phone call, and my uncle, who had the same last name, went to get the call. So my parents met at the telephone!

My mother is very much an optimist, and she doesn't like to dwell on the negative. She spoke German, Danish, English — but we didn't grow up with foreign languages. My mother could switch into a language, but she couldn't switch back. When she went to Denmark or Germany, she picked up right where she left off, but she was not able to "bring it back home" with her.

As a child, I had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up. I've worn eyeglasses since I was 5 years old, but optometry was never something I was particularly interested in — other than the fact that eyeglasses were always a part of my life.

Probably what got me into optometry more than anything was my interest in science. When I was an undergrad, I thought I was going to be a research scientist. But I worked at a research lab and found it incredibly boring. I wanted to work with people. Optometry combined something I was very interested in — optics — and working with people. So it became a good fit for me.

I am an educator as opposed to a practicing doctor. I didn't want to go to medical school because I didn't want to work with sick people. I know that sounds awful, but I had no desire to deal with sickness all day, every day. In high school, I volunteered at a hospital, and I mostly transported patients and worked in the pharmacy. It was a positive experience, but it was one of the things that indicated to me that I didn't want to go into medicine. Health care, yes; medicine no. But I didn't consciously choose my vocation in health care education; rather, it chose me.

I went to UC Berkeley School of Optometry because it had a great reputation, and I wanted to experience life. I had never even been west of Ohio before! So it was kind of a grand adventure for me. While there, I developed a strong interest in a specific area of optometry called low vision rehabilitation. I dealt with people with visual impairment — again, combining my interest in optics and other components of vision. So after I received my O.D. in 1988, I did my residency in low vision.

For my residency, I wanted to go to an institution where there were a lot of patients. There were not too many places at that time where you could do that. One was in the Veterans Administration system, which were all old men. Well, people with visual impairment are not all old men. I wanted to make sure that the patient demographic I was looking at was very representative of the patients I would see. So I selected the William Feinbloom Vision Rehabilitation Center at Pennsylvania College of Optometry, and it was a smart move for me because it was a great learning experience.

In 1991, after completing my residency and staying on as a faculty member for a short while, I left Pennsylvania to go to the University of Houston College of Optometry. I hadn't really planned on getting a Ph.D. at that time, but they recruited me to do it, and I entered the graduate program in physiological optics. My dissertation was on scotomas — blind spots. I was looking at visual perception in artificial scotomas and trying to induce artificially what my patients had permanently. I wanted to see how visual perception was altered in those areas. It was an interesting idea, but I realized that I did not have the passion for research to make it an integral component of my career.

As I was finishing my Ph.D., in 1999, a mentor advised me to go the Nova Southeastern University in Davie, Florida, because it was a newer school, and it needed people with an academic background. He gave me some sage advice that I wouldn't be just another faculty member; I would be someone who had something to contribute and would be able to make a difference.

South Florida appealed to me — and to my new, Texas-born wife! So we moved there, and, in 2008, when we left, I had been the assistant dean for student affairs for 5 years. It was a job I loved because it combined a lot of things that were interests of mine. I was doing more and more academic things, trying to improve student performance.

So, in 2008, when the Southern College of Optometry job was posted, I decided it was time for me to shift from doing student affairs to academic affairs. Student affairs is interesting, but I'm an academic at heart.

I came to Memphis, in 2008, to take the job of vice president of academic affairs for the Southern College of Optometry. It was a rewarding 7-plus years. About half the faculty here at SCO were recruited during my time in that position. The curriculum is outstanding, and I think we made it stronger by hiring really good people. And we did a lot of projects to improve student outcomes.

Then, in 2015, following the resignation of the sitting president, I became the interim president of SCO. In 2016, after being interim for 9 months, I became SCO's 7th president in its 85-year history.

In short, the Southern College of Optometry is … an independent, not-for-profit institution of higher education that was founded in Memphis in 1932. It has more than 525 students and residents from 40 states. The college's public clinic, The Eye Center at SCO, serves more than 60,000 patients annually, as one of the nation's largest clinics in optometric education.

My last name is pronounced … Rysh.

As a child, I thought I wanted to be … I didn't know. At one point, I wanted to be an astronomer. I liked the stars, and I had a telescope from when I was very young, which also fueled my interest in optics. But I was not one of those kids who could tell you what I wanted to be when I grew up.

When I arrived at SCO, one of the things I thought was missing … was a way for students to get involved in research. One of the reasons I pursued a Ph.D. was because I was exposed to research in optometry school, and through that experience, I found something that was very interesting to me, and it piqued that lifelong curiosity that eventually led me to where I am now. So I could see that we could mentor people in that way and expose them to something that, through an optometric education, they're not normally exposed to through that department. We started a small research program for students, and we've had students go on to graduate programs after that, which they wouldn't have otherwise.

From my father, I learned … the value of saving for the future. My father was a pragmatist, a fiscal conservative who grew up during the Depression.

From my mother, I learned … optimism. She also has an insatiable curiosity. I think her optimism and her curious nature led her to not only survive her challenges in life, but thrive. My mother, like me, likes to learn new things.

Research is … A mentor of mine put it well: "Having a career in research is putting one foot in front of the other and, at the end of the day, seeing where you are." That really can be an accurate assessment. With most research programs, you're putting one foot in front of the other and trying to look at the next wrinkle of what you're doing. And you hope that at the end of the day, you've had a straight line. But most people veer — because something is interesting or fundable — and at the end of the day, they may not get the answer they're looking for. They may have arrived at something totally different. Sometimes research begets research.

My first paying job … I worked at a public library, shelving books. I've always loved books, so it was a great fit for me.

My education was paid for by … I worked the whole time I was in school, and I paid for everything in optometry school. The job I had at Berkeley for almost 3 years was working in the lab of a Nobel laureate. Melvin Calvin needed someone to grow weeds. Seriously! I had a background from my undergraduate experience in plant science, so I applied for the job and was the only one with any experience. Now, the reason I applied for that job was that it paid a dollar more an hour than any other job on the list. I was going for the money. I didn't know whose lab it was at first, and the Calvin Cycle is very famous in chemistry. It's the way plants photosynthesize. What they were trying to do — they were taking the latex from a weed called Euphorbia lathyris and trying to extract hydrocarbons from the latex. Dr. Calvin wanted to develop "gasohol plants" — remember gasohol from the '70s and '80s? He wanted to solve the world's energy crisis.

Eyeglass are so expensive because … a quality pair of eyeglasses represents a true, unique prescription. You are paying for the expertise of the doctor and the staff who are exceedingly well trained to fully address the visual needs and ocular health of their patients. It is impossible for an online entity to even begin to do any of these things. As they say, let the buyer beware!

A degree in optometry is like … a degree in dentistry or a degree in pharmacy. Optometry is a 4-year, post-graduate professional degree. When you graduate with your O.D. — Doctor of Optometry — you can hang out your shingle and practice.

My interest in low-vision rehabilitation comes from … the fact the I could help people who could not see, be able to do their daily living, whether it be watching TV, driving a car, or reading a book — to benefit people in a way so they could overcome those obstacles.

The big takeaway from my residency at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry … I became more interested in the "why" of visual impairment, which lead to my earning a Ph.D. The "why" became as important as "how." So I started my Ph.D. at the University of Houston College of Optometry, determined to find out the "why."

The difference between student affairs and academic affairs … Student affairs concerns recruitment: Why optometry? Why this institution? Why is this the best fit? and ensuring that the entering class is there. After that, student affairs is student retention, disciplinary matters, crisis management — very student centric. Academic affairs is all aspects of the curriculum and faculty.

My first impression of Memphis … I remember listening to someone at a presentation and texting my wife: "Did we make a mistake coming here?" I had trouble understanding the speaker because of his thick Southern accent! The first couple of months were different and challenging. The first time I went to the Cooper Young Festival, though, I realized I was OK with Memphis, that I was happy with Memphis. I saw diversity, alternative lifestyles, and people with different views who felt free to express themselves. Up until that point, living in Memphis, I had not seen it firsthand. But every year, every month, every week since then, Memphis has really grown on us. We feel really comfortable here and have become exceptionally strong advocates of the city. We are proud that Memphis is home.

The hardest part of what I do today … Meetings! Sitting still! And also when I have to tell people no, even though I'm telling them no for the right reasons.

One of my most memorable career moments … During my residency, I had one patient from Belize. He was a high-ranking government official who had developed a membrane in the back of his eye, and he had lost his ability to see detail. I was able to give him enough magnification so that he could view his reading material and start to read again. He burst out crying. "You've saved me! Now I can do what I need to do as a lawyer." I still remember the man's name, although I don't know what became of him. He changed how I looked at things. If I'm able to change a person's life like that, it makes up for all the people that I could <<not>> help. Having someone in your chair, crying, because you've made that much of a difference in their life is indescribably satisfying.

Sports … Don't watch 'em, don't play 'em.

One of my favorite SCO achievements … We used to have an entrance that was more of an alleyway from Union to Madison, and we had a lot of through traffic — cars, people cutting through. I thought, "What if we just closed that off and made that access-only for our faculty, staff, and students? What if, instead of a road there, we make it a grassy area, a pocket park?" And we did that. It wasn't incredibly expensive, and it happened quickly. We now have a swing there and a bench and a gate. We made the campus safer, and we beautified a spot on the campus.

My wife … Diane and I met at a party in Houston, while I was working on my Ph.D. We married in 1998. When we met, she was a videographer, and now she is a freelance photographer and mother to our son, Isaac, and our 2 rescue dogs — Tobe, because she was meant "to be," and Honey.

Of all the awards and honors I've received, one that meant a great deal ... I was really honored when I was inaugurated as president of SCO. I had a lot of people who came and shared that day with me, and it felt very special.

My biggest concern about becoming SCO president … I was interim president for 9 months, and I felt that those 9 months were not only an assessment of whether I was good at the job, but also an evaluation of whether I liked doing the position. I found out that I really liked it because some of the things I enjoy doing are … people. And this job allows me to work with people. I get to talk to students; I get to talk to faculty. One of the best parts about this job is being able to get up and walk around and visit with different employees at SCO and get to know them better. That has been really gratifying.

People might be surprised to learn that I … am an aficionado of Scandinavian detective series.

I'm still learning how to … Get funding. It's a big deal, obviously. Getting donors to give us money is something I'm still in the process of becoming comfortable with; it's not something I was ever trained to do. It's not something you learn along the way. Getting funding from the government or a foundation is totally different from getting funding from individuals. It's easier to ask an entity for funding for a project than it is to say to a person, "Give us your hard-earned money." I have to learn those skills, but I have a great team that is helping me in this area.

My son … Isaac is 16 years old, and up until recently, he said he wanted to go into law — because he wants to argue. Just recently, he switched it to engineering because he wants to invent things.

One of the biggest mistakes I made and learned from … was not being with my dad when he passed away. I let perceived priorities, back in 1994, delay my trip home by a day to visit my father who was dying of cancer. He passed away during my flight, and I did not get a chance to see him one last time. I learned that family does come first, and that is the same advice that I give my team here at SCO.

When I'm not being Lewis Reich the SCO president, I like to . travel. Diane and I went to Italy this past year. We talk about what we want to see. It's not like we go every three months, but we try to go on a trip each year. We enjoy traveling in Europe, but love traveling within the U.S., as well. When we travel, I feel like we're the "aggressive tourists" — we have to see everything. You regret sitting still versus active relaxation. I also really love relaxing beach vacations, so we probably will do that this summer!

My favorite part of traveling … I love museums. If I travel by myself — and I've done Paris by myself — it's all museums. That's not my wife's thing at all. She likes sightseeing — but not museums. In Florence, for example, I had to decide between visiting the Museo Galileo and the Leonardo da Vinci Museum, and being an optics guy, I had to drag her to the Galileo museum. She put up with 2 hours of it.

The types of things that keep me up at night … I often lie awake with a thought in my head about some factor, process, or something that I'd like to do. I call them my "thoughts while shaving" — little projects around the school: "Wouldn't it be nice if …?" For example, we had some old trophy cases lining the walls against our classrooms. The trophies were dusty and from decades ago, and nobody looked at them. And I thought, "This is a waste of space. Why not convert this trophy case into a study area for students?" For an incredibly low cost, we installed high-tops, chairs, bright lighting, and students love it because people walk by, and it gives them another place to study. It wasn't an expensive thing, but it was a "thoughts while shaving."

I'm not very good at … Sitting still, driving, or wearing ties. Or physically building things without direction. I am not handy. At all. Just ask my wife.

The Memphis Medical District Collaborative … started several years ago, and I serve as its secretary. There have been efforts for many years to look at the Medical District in a way that it hasn't been looked at before. It used to be that the area close to SCO had a high percentage of people living here, densely populated. Now, the Memphis Medical District has an enormous amount of people who come in to work, and they leave, the area becomes a "people desert" in the evenings. Unfortunately, that's really changed the character of the district. So the MMDC has a 3-pronged approach: 1) Live local, meaning live within the district itself; 2) Buy local, meaning buy from local companies and vendors; and 3) Hire local. There are many health-care entities supporting this.

One of the most difficult decisions I've made … was to embark on my Ph.D., because I already had a doctorate, and I was embarking on a professional life. And here I was at nearly 30 years old, starting again in a part of the country that we'd never lived in before. Leaving my roots, my family, my friends to start anew. It was difficult.

My list of professional involvements includes … I'm a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and served as Chair of the Optometry Admissions Test Committee, Chair of the Chief Academic Officers, and was the inaugural Chair of the OptomCAS Committee for the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry. My research has been funded by the National Eye Institute, as well as the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research. I particularly enjoy being a manuscript reviewer for major optometric and vision science journals, and I was recently appointed to the National Board of Examiners in Optometry Board of Directors.

When I read for pleasure, I read … I read everything. I'm a big reader when I have time. My guilty pleasure is, when I fly, I usually like to read Dan Brown or Harlan Coben–genre books. I read very fast, so it's kind of like watching a TV show.

Items still on my bucket list ... I would love to tour the Middle East and see the Grand Canyon. If I could sit in a plane that long, I would love to see Africa and Australia.

My final 2 cents … Although I had never considered being the president of SCO, I am very satisfied with this position. What I like to do — and what I think is important for us to do — is to ensure that the people of Memphis understand what a treasure they have here with the Southern College of Optometry. What we can do for the city is not fully tapped. We've already done so many good things here, but there are so many good things left to do — things that continue the positive impact that SCO makes upon this city.

Southern College of Optometry
1245 Madison Ave.
901-722-3200
sco.edu