George B. Bartley, MD, the Chief Executive Officer of the American Board of Ophthalmology, will receive the Minnesota Academy of Ophthalmology's (MAO) 2021 Budd Appleton Award for Service to Ophthalmology. The award will be presented at the organization’s 24th Annual Eye Ball to be conducted virtually on May 7.
The prestigious Appleton Award is presented annually to the member of the MAO who has performed the greatest service to the field of ophthalmology through patient care, public education, and political advocacy. The honor bears the name of the late ophthalmologist Budd Appleton, MD, who was renown in Minnesota and around the country for his clinical expertise and community service.
Dr. Bartley, a longtime MAO member, is an accomplished surgeon, researcher, educator, and executive. As CEO of the American Board of Ophthalmology, he oversees the certification of more than 500 newly trained ophthalmologists each year and sets standards for the continued certification of nearly 13,000 ophthalmologists practicing across the United States and around the world.
The CEO Emeritus of Mayo Clinic in Florida, Dr. Bartley is the Louis and Evelyn Krueger Professor of Ophthalmology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, where he specializes in oculoplastic and orbital surgery. He is a Distinguished Senior Editor of the journal Ophthalmology, for which he served as Editor-in-Chief from 2012-2017, past President of the American Ophthalmological Society, and presently sits on the Foundation Advisory Board of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the Board of Directors of the American Board of Medical Specialties.
In 2020, Dr. Bartley was presented with the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s highest honor, the Laureate Recognition Award, for his exceptional contributions to the betterment of eye care through sustained, impactful leadership.