AURORA, Ohio—The College of Optometrists in Vision Development (COVD), in partnership with the Beta Sigma Kappa (BSK) International Optometric Honor Society, has begun offering BSK-COVD Research Grants up to $2,000 annually to optometric-related faculty and optometry residents at an accredited school or college to provide support for research in binocular vision and/or visual performance issues. The grant is funded by an initial donation of $50,000 from Beta Sigma Kappa in 2013 to endow research in visual development. COVD has agreed to add another $15,000 to the fund over the next three years.

Application guidelines are available online. The deadline is Aug. 1, 2014. Submissions will be reviewed by the BSK Board of Regents and the BSK Central World Council, both in collaboration with the COVD.

The award recipient(s) and an institution representative will be invited to attend the COVD Annual Meeting to be held Oct. 21-25, 2014, in San Diego, where the recipient(s) will receive the award and recognition at the COVD Awards Luncheon. Recipients must submit a final report of their research findings no later than one year after the award, and the preferred submission is an article in a form suitable for publication. Recipients are encouraged to present at the COVD Annual Meeting and to submit a manuscript to an optometric journal for publication.

COVD has also issued a call for nominations for the A.M. Skeffington Award for a COVD Fellow who has made outstanding contributions to the optometric literature in the areas of vision therapy and vision development, the G.N. Getman Award for a developmentally oriented optometrist with clinical expertise and application in office structure and professional activity, and the COVT of the Year Award for a certified optometric vision therapist who has shown dedication to behavioral optometry and has demonstrated understanding and support for patients and their families. The deadline for these nominations is May 1, 2014.