Larry J. Davis, O.D.

Larry J. Davis, O.D., F.A.A.O.
Associate Professor
Dean

Education and Training

B.S.V.S.   Indiana University-
School of Optometry (1985)

O.D.  Indiana University School of Optometry (1987)

Residency-University of Missouri- St Louis (emphasis Cornea and Contact lenses) (1987-88)

Dr. Larry J. Davis currently serves as Dean in the College. He joined the University in 1993 as an Assistant Professor following five years service on the faculty in the Department of Ophthalmology at Saint Louis University School of Medicine where he also served as Director of the Contact Lens Service.

Dr. Davis’s area of academic specialization is cornea, contact lenses and anterior segment ocular disease with special emphasis in refractive management of the diseased and/or injured eye. From 1993 to 2004 he served as the UM-St. Louis participating clinic principal investigator for the Collaborative Longitudinal Evaluation of Keratoconus (CLEK) study, a multi-centered observational study of the common corneal disease.

Dr. Davis’s teaching responsibilities have included service as coordinator of the two-semester course in Ocular Disease and Ocular Assessment, a course that he helped to establish. He also serves as facilitator for the course entitled Scenario Based Discovery, a case based introductory experience for students enrolled in their first professional year. He has also served as preceptor in the primary care, eye health management and contact lens services in the Center for Eye Care.

He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and Diplomate of the Cornea and Contact Lens Section.  He has served on the Scientific Program Committee of the Academy. Dr Davis is Past President of the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO) and the Saint Louis Optometric Society (SLOS) representing over 200 members. He serves on the Board of Directors for the National Board of Examiners in Optometry (NBEO) and the Heart of America Contact Lens Society.  

He completed the inaugural yearlong U.M- System Leadership Development Program for Department Chairs and was one of three academic leaders selected by ASCO to participate in a yearlong leadership program for administrators of health professions training programs.

In 1999 the students at UM-St Louis selected him as Outstanding Optometric Educator of The Year. He was awarded Optometrist of the Year in 1994 and Distinguished Optometrist for 2002 by the membership of the St Louis Optometric Society.

Dr. Larry J. Davis
College of Optometry
University of Missouri-St. Louis
One University Boulevard
St. Louis, MO 63121
Telephone: (314) 516-5606 Fax: (314) 516-6527
ljdavis@umsl.edu