Texas Archival Resources Online

TABLE OF CONTENTS


Descriptive Summary

Biographical Note

Scope and Contents

Restrictions

Index Terms

Administrative Information

Description of Series

Résumé

Manuscripts

Patents

Awards and Notices

Conferences

Optometric Delegations

Print Items

Correspondence

Scrapbooks

Photographs

Audio Recordings

Video Recordings

Miscellaneous

University of Houston Libraries, Special Collections

Dr. Irvin M. Borish Papers, 1939-1996



Descriptive Summary

Creator:Borish, Irvin M.
Title:Dr. Irvin M. Borish Papers
Dates: 1939-1996
Abstract: In 1982 Dr. Irvin Borish assumed the Benedict Professorship of Optometric Practice at the University of Houston. The University of Houston College of Optometry established the Irvin M. Borish Chair in Optometric Practice in 1987. This endowed chair carries more than one million dollars of support. The papers of Dr. Irvin Borish contain manuscripts, patents, awards and notices, conference proceedings, print items, correspondence, photographs, as well as audio and video recordings.
Identification:1997-001
Quantity:9 Boxes; 5 Linear Feet
Repository: Special Collections, University of Houston Libraries

Biographical Note

Irvin M. Borish was born on January 21, 1913 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son a Lithuanian Jewish immigrants. His father later contracted tuberculosis, forcing the family to move to Liberty, New York, where Borish graduated from Liberty High School. He returned to Philadelphia in 1930 to pursue studies in English literature at Temple University. In 1932 he enrolled in the Northern Illinois College of Optometry in Chicago.

Dr. Borish graduated from Northern Illinois College of Optometry in 1935 and achieved the best academic record in the institution's history. During the same year, the Northern Illinois College of Optometry also appointed him to the position of Instructor on the school's faculty as well as Chief of Staff for the college's Eye Clinic. By 1942, Dr. Borish held the position of Assistant Dean.

In 1944 Borish moved to Kokomo, Indiana where he started a successful private optometric practice. A heart attack in 1973 forced him to retire from private practice. After recovering, he assumed a full-time faculty position at Indiana University's Optometry School. Between the 1944 and 1973 he actively pursued many endeavors. In 1948 the first of numerous editions of Clinical Refraction, still a standard for optometry students, was published. While in private practice, Borish lobbied for the establishment of an optometry school in Bloomington, Indiana, wrote nearly one hundred articles, delivered numerous lectures, served as a visiting professor to at least nine optometry schools, and patented hard toric and bifocal contact lenses. He also contributed to the by-laws establishing the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry, coauthored the original manual of Accreditation used by the Council on Education and Accreditation in Optometry, as well as working on the by-laws of the Contact Lens Manufacturers Association which sets standards for the safe manufacture of contact lenses.

Dr. Borish retired from Indiana University in 1982, at which time he assumed the Benedict Professorship of Optometric Practice at the University of Houston. Since his arrival at the University of Houston, the University of Houston College of Optometry has established the Irvin M. Borish Chair in Optometric Practice (1987), an endowed chair with more than one million dollars of support. In 1995, Indiana University honored him by establishing the Borish Center for Ophthalmic Research.

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Scope and Contents

The papers of Dr. Irvin Borish contain manuscripts, patents, awards and notices, conference proceedings, print items, correspondence, photographs, as well as audio and video recordings. Items in the collection date from 1937 to 1996 with most of the material dating from the late 1970s and 1980s. The majority of the material in the collection contains articles and other manuscript items written by Borish. However, the collection also contains numerous photographs, most of which are not labeled. Patent information and letters from prominent optometrists and ophthalmologists regarding Clinical Refraction might also be of interest to the researcher.

The University of Houston College of Optometry displays several of Dr. Borish's awards, honorary degrees, certificates, and other memorabilia (including a painting by him) in the Irvin M. Borish Reading Room located in the Optometry Library.

Dr. Borish's papers are arranged into twelve series: Résumé, Manuscripts, Patents, Awards and Notices, Conferences, Optometric Delegations, Print Items, Correspondence, Scrapbooks, Photographs, Audio Recordings, Video Recordings, and Miscellaneous. Original arrangement has been adhered to where possible. Subject file titles within the various series reflect titles created by Dr. Borish. Material arrangement, other than series arrangement, follows a chronological scheme whenever possible with the exception of the Manuscripts series. Subject files within the Manuscripts series are arranged alphabetically, with items in each subject file chronologically ordered.

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

Open for research.

Use Restrictions

Special Collections owns the physical items in our collections, but copyright normally belongs to the creator of the materials or their heirs. The researcher has full responsibility for determining copyright status, locating copyright holders, and abiding by current copyright laws when publishing or displaying copies of Special Collections material in print or electronic form. For more information, consult the appropriate librarian.

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Index Terms

Terms are either Library of Congress Subject Headings or taken from local sources.
Subjects (Persons)
Borish, Irvin M.
Subjects (Organizations)
University of Houston. College of Optometry.
University of Houston
Subjects
University of Houston History
Optometry schools United States
Optometry Study and teaching.

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Dr. Irvin M. Borish Papers, Courtesy of Special Collections, University of Houston Libraries.

Acquisition

Donation from Dr. Borish, 1997

Processed by

Tyler Selle, February 1997

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Detailed Description

 

Résumé

There is one folder in this series, which contains Dr. Borish's 1996 résumé along with a letter to Suzanne Ferimer, Optometry Librarian at the University of Houston College of Optometry's Library.
boxfolder
11Résumé and Material Accompanying Collection, April 1996

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Manuscripts

This series is the largest in the collection with eighty-seven folders. The materials date from 1939 to 1995. Items within this series vary considerably in content, however, most are articles, chapters, lectures, or notes. Subject files are arranged alphabetically and retain titles used by Dr. Borish.
boxfolder
12Academy Editorial, March 1992
3Academy and Professionalism, undated
4Accommodation and Refractive Error, undated
5Accreditation and Residents, undated
6Amos Book Introduction, 1985, undated
7AOA Long Range Planning Committee, September 1984-January 1985
8Aphakia Interview Contact World, undated
9Aphakic Vision, undated
10ASCO RE Title VII of PHS Act, May 1991
11Bichrome Tests, 1973-1974, undated
12Bifocal Contacts, Bennett Book, February 1984-September 1984
13Bifocal Contacts, Bennett Book, undated
14Bifocal Contact Lenses AOA Journal, March 1982
15Blueprint for Success - Opt Management, April 1988
16The Borish Nearpoint Chart, undated
17By-Laws and Constitution Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry, 1939-1955, undated
18Commencement Address Pennsylvania, undated
19Commencement Address Southern California, undated
20Commencement Address SUNY, undated
21Comparison Acceptance PAL vs. Bifocal - Hitzeman, May 1983, undated
22Comparison Fitting 2 Types Gel Lenses, undated
23Comparison Fitting 2 Types Gel Lenses, undated
24Corneal Thickness Changes with Toric Soft Lenses with Soni, May 1979, undated
25Corneal Thickness Changes with Toric Soft Lenses with Soni, undated
26"Don't Leave a Vacuum," 1991, undated
27Double Masked Study - Hitzeman/Brookman, October 1980
28Editorial in "Eye on Education," March 1992
boxfolder
21Effect of Plus Lenses on Childrens Reading Ability - with Jim Koetting, May 1988
2Effect of Plus Lenses on Childrens Reading Ability - with Jim Koetting, July-September 1988
3External Clinics Adjunct Assignment, undated
4Fitting Contact Lens Bifocals, undated
5Fitting Contact Lens Bifocals, undated
6Fitting Contact Lens Bifocals, undated
7I.B.B. Speech, 1941
8Icling Lens, October 1962
9Icling Lens, 1966-1968
10Icling Lens, undated
11Icling Lens, undated
12Keratoconus (Contact Lens Forum), undated
13Keynote Speech IOOL, 1990
14"Learning from the Past," 1990
15Liposition Finished Manuscript, March 1987, undated
16Manual of Accreditation, 1941
17Max Schapero Lecture, December 1987
18Max Schapero Lecture, December 1987-March 1988
19Milestones in Optics, March 1991
20Monocular Case Differential Analysis, undated
21Morgan Memorial Lecture, April 1988-1990
22Notes on Refraction Management, undated
23Observations of Bifocal Contact Lenses - Perrigin, undated
boxfolder
31Observation Operation Contact Lens Bifocals, August 1985, undated
2Old Case Analysis Paper, March-September 1945
3Ophthalmology and Optometry, undated
4Optometry in Foreign Countries, undated
5Optometry's Premise Legal Panel in New Orleans, December 1971-February 1972
6Pennsylvania Externship, undated
7Perspective on Worldwide Optometry, undated
8Perceptual Problems in Aphakia, 1981-1983
9Perceptual Problems in Aphakia - Diagrams, undated
10Physiology of Ageing and Its Influence Contact Lens Prescription with Benjamin, November 1990-October 1991
11Policoff Tribute, December 1976, undated
12Position of Contact Lenses in the Eye, undated
13Positioning of Contact Lenses in the Eye, undated
14Presbyopia and Contact Lenses, undated
15Problems in Progressive Lens Placement (Brooks), undated
16Progressive Lenses vs. Other Forms Bifocals, December 1984-November 1989
17Pupil Dependency - Bifocal Contact Lenses, undated
18Referral Relationships Article, undated
19Reflections on Practice Today Optometry Management, April-November 1987
20Reflections on Practice Today Optometry Management, 1988, undated
21Refraction Lecture for Japan, undated
22Relation of Visual Science to Refractive Procedures, undated
23Relative Movement of Lower Lid with Dr. Perrigin, undated
24Report on Central and Peripheral Corneal Thickness with Soni, May 1979
25Review of Ball's Article, September 1992
26Review of NIH Allen Grant, 1982-1988, undated
27Rigid Bifocal C.L. with Leach, 1986
28Satire on OEP, March 1950
29Spectacles as a part of Optometry Forum at Academy 1995, May 1995
30St. Louis Talk on Contact Lenses, undated
boxfolder
41Student Procurement, 1954
2Subjective Chapter - Miller, 1990-1991, undated
3Summary Speech Tucson Planning Conference, January 1975, undated
4Summary Speech Tucson Planning Conference, undated
5Survey of Well-Known Systems of Fitting Small Lenses, undated
6Survey on C.L. Presbyopia with W.B. Baldwin, undated
7Talk to Corning on Contacts, undated
8Textbook Contact Lens Practice with Benjamin, December 1988-September 1990

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Patents

There are five folders in this series which contain material from 1960 to 1989. Items in this series include copies of original patent registration forms (both illustrations and written descriptions). A series of black and white photographs located in the Photographs series (Box 9, Folders 14-21), although unidentified, likely relate to the items patented.
boxfolder
49Stock Agreements, December 1960
10Number 3,238,676 - Method for Altering the Power of a Corneal Contact Lens, March 1966
11Number 3,360,889 - Method for Altering the Power of a Corneal Contact Lens, January 1968
12Number 3,430,391 - Apparatus for Altering the Power of a Corneal Contact Lens, March 1969
13Indiana Contact Lens Balance Sheets, August 1988-March 1989

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Awards and Notices

There are twenty-one folders in this series with items dating from 1944 to 1996. Subject files include assorted Awards and Notices, Certificates, Educational and Licence Certificates, and Honorary Degrees. The Irvin M. Borish Reading Room in the University of Houston's Optometry Library also displays several of Dr. Borish's awards and achievements.
boxfolder
414Awards and Notices, 1966-1967
15Awards and Notices, 1968
16Awards and Notices, 1973-1977
17Awards and Notices, 1982-1983
18Awards and Notices, 1985-1987
19Awards and Notices, 1988-1989
20Awards and Notices, 1991-1996
21Awards and Notices, undated
boxfolder
51Photos, 1968-1990, undated
2Certificates, 1963-1979
3Certificates, 1980-1988, undated
boxfolder
101Certificates (Oversize), 1944-1987
boxfolder
54Certificates and Letters - Indiana, Houston, Other, 1970-1987, undated
5Membership Certificates, 1979-1985, undated
6Educational and Licence Certificates, 1956-1995
7Honorary Degrees, 1968
8Honorary Degrees, 1975
9Honorary Degrees, 1983
10Honorary Degrees, 1984
11Honorary Degrees, undated
12Awards and Notices, April 1990
13Awards and Notices, May 1990

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Conferences

The five folders in this series contain items dating from 1966 to 1992. Programs from various conferences are included in this series.
boxfolder
61Programs, 1966-1968
2Programs, 1972-1978
3Programs, 1980-1985
4Programs, 1986-1988
5Programs, 1990-1992, undated

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Optometric Delegations

The nine folders in this series hold material from two international optometric delegations headed by Dr. Borish. The two subject files, India and China, represent items associated from these delegations from 1985 through 1988.
boxfolder
66India - Journal, March-April 1987
7India (India Elite School - Dr. Badranath), 1987
8India (India Elite School - Dr. Badranath), March-September 1987
9India - List, October 1987
10India - Correspondence, Jun. 1987-May 1988
11China - Ophthalmologist List, October 1985-January 1988
12China - Project History, undated
13China - Material Included with Project History, January 1986-October 1988
14China - Material Included with Project History, 1986

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Print Items

There are twelve folders in this series with material dating from 1937 to 1996. Items in this series contain various print items, newspaper clippings, and different optometric journals. The majority of articles were either authored by Dr. Borish or written about him.
boxfolder
71Print Items, 1937
2Print Items, 1955-1978
3Print Items, 1980-1985
4Print Items, 1986-1989
5Print Items, 1990-1996
6Print Items, undated
7Newspaper Clippings, 1963-1978
8Newspaper Clippings, 1980-1987, undated
9Journals, 1982-1983
10Journals, 1987-1989
11Journals, 1991-1996
12Journals, undated

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Correspondence

The thirty-three folders in this series contain correspondence dating from 1946 to 1994. Subject files include letters received concerning Clinical Refraction, general correspondence, as well as more personal correspondence (retirement and sympathy cards regarding Dr. Borish's heart attack). The Letters of Recommendation subject file comprises of the largest subject file in the series.
boxfolder
713Clinical Refraction, 1946-1949
14 Clinical Refraction, 1954-1955
15Clinical Refraction, 1962-1980
16General 1973-1980
17General 1981-1984
18General, 1986-1989
19General, 1990-1996
20General, undated
21Retirement, 1983, undated
Letters of Recommendation
boxfolder
722Dr. William Baldwin, August 1984
23Dr. Richard Ball, March 1993
24Dr. Caroline Begley, September 1991
25Dr. Al Bucar, January 1994
26Dr. Lena Chu, September 1986
27Dr. Glenn Fry, July 1987
boxfolder
81Dr. Henry Hofstetter, January 1991
2Dr. Richard Hopping, April 1988
3Dr. Patricia Keach, August 1985
4Dr. David Loshin, October 1991
5Dr. Gerald Lowther, February 1988
6Dr. Morris C. McKee, January 1985
7Dr. Raymond I. Myers, March 1987
8Dr. Donald Pitts, May 1986
9Dr. Kenneth Poise, December 1991
10Dr. Maurice Poster, July 1985
11Dr. Lewis Scott, December 1981
12Dr. P. Sarita Soni, Aug. 1991
13Dr. B. Leonard Werner, July 1988
14Dr. Melvin Wolfberg, May 1989
15Dr. Dennis Yamamoto, July 1988
16Cards Regarding Heart Attack, 1971-1985
17Cards Regarding Heart Attack, undated
18Cards Regarding Heart Attack, undated

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Scrapbooks

There are five folders in this series. Materials, dating from 1954 to 1989, focus on three areas: Presentation for Distinguished Professorship at Indiana University, the University of Houston's Borish Chair in Optometry, and a photo album containing pictures from an optometric conference in Japan. The scrapbooks remain intact to preserve their original organization while items placed in them loosely have been removed and labeled accordingly.
boxfolder
819Presentation for Distinguished Professorship at Indiana University, 1980
20Material Contained in Presentation for Distinguished Professorship at Indiana University, 1954-1980, undated
21UH Borish Chair in Optometry, 1987
22Material Contained in UH Borish Chair in Optometry, 1987-1989, undated
boxfolder
102Japan - Conference (Oversize), undated

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Photographs

There are fifty-three photographs in this series, with items dating from 1951 to 1996. The majority of the photos are neither identified nor dated.
boxfolder
91-53Photos, 1951-1996, undated

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Audio Recordings

This series contains four cassette tapes made between 1974 and 1993.
boxfolder
111COIT 2nd Session NOCW, January 1974
2COIT 2nd Session NOCW, January 1974
3Evolution of Progressive Addition Lens Design, October 1993
4NCAA Title - Irv Borish - Hall of Fame Tapes, undated

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Video Recordings

This series contains eight VHS tapes recorded between August 1984 and January 1990. Three of the tapes contain interview footage of noted optometrists, including Dr. Borish, produced by the American Optometric Association (AOA).
boxfolder
115"Bayshore Lens," August 1984
6"Two Hour Tour of China - People to People," October 1985
7AOA Interviews: Koetting, Stewart, Goodlaw, Baily, Borish, September 1989
8AOA Interviews: Wechsler, Borish, Grosvenor, Hill, Baily, December 1989
9AOA Interviews: Wolfberg, Borish "Living History of Contact Lenses," January 1990
103rd Symposium International de la Presbytie, undated
11"Auto Refractometer," undated
12"Electronic Refractor," undated

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Miscellaneous

There are two folders in this series. The items are not dated and consist mostly of sketches of Dr. Borish drawn by students.
boxfolder
954Sketches by Students, undated
55Miscellaneous, undated

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