Eleanor E. Faye, MD
Inducted 2002
Eleanor E. Faye (1923-2020) was born in California but grew up in Hawaii. She served as the Medical Director for Lighthouse International as well as the Ophthalmological Advisor to the Lighthouse Center for Education. She was awarded her BA degree from Stanford University and her MD degree in 1950 from Stanford University School of Medicine.
From 1965-1993 Eleanor Faye served as the Director of the Lighthouse Low Vision Services. A founder and lead instructor with the Lighthouse Continuing Education Program in low vision care, Eleanor Faye also lectured at universities, hospitals and agencies for the blind and visually impaired. She was an emeritus ophthalmic surgeon with the Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital and with the New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center.
Eleanor Faye was formerly a member of the Board of Trustees of the American Foundation for the Blind, Chair of the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s Low Vision Standing Committee (now the Vision Rehabilitation Committee) and is Chair of the Low Vision Clinical Society. She maintained an ophthalmic practice in New York City.
Eleanor Faye’s work was widely published. Her book, Clinical Low Vision (1994), went into its second edition and was praised as a “classic work” by the New England Journal of Optometry. She also collaborated on several books and film and videotape productions about low vision with Lighthouse Low Vision Services, the Lighthouse National Center for Vision and Aging, the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the American Foundation for the Blind.
Eleanor Faye was widely recognized as a leader in low vision. In 1981, she received the first annual Pisart Vision Award from the New York Association for the Blind as well as the American Foundation for the Blind’s Migel Medal for Outstanding Service to Blind Persons. Other awards include a Doctor of Humane Letters from Illinois College of Optometry and two Merit Awards from the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
More recently, Eleanor Faye received a Doctor of Science degree from the State University of New York (1991), received the Distinguished Service Award from the American Optometric Association (1994), was named Honorary Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry (1994), and received the Statesmanship Award conferred by the Joint Commission on Allied Health Personnel in Ophthalmology (1995). In July 1996, Eleanor Faye was awarded the International Meritorious Award for Lifetime Contribution to Low Vision by AER, the Association for the Education and Rehabilitation of Blind and Visually Impaired Persons.
Additional information on Dr. Faye at Lighthouse International:
www.lighthouse.org/clinical-services/meet-our-doctors
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Hall of Fame: Leaders and Legends of the Blindness Field is a project of the entire field of blindness. It is curated by the American Printing House for the Blind, a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization.
