The following is a guest blog post written by the Wong family of Austin.
Since moving to Austin in the 1930s, our family has seen the city grow and change. It’s where we put down roots — starting businesses, raising children and building our community. This is where we wanted to leave our legacy.
In 2016, we made a $20 million gift to Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin to create the Mitchel and Shannon Wong Eye Institute, a leading center to train future ophthalmologists and provide patients with the best medical and surgical eye care possible.
The gift of clear sight changes lives. It allows children to experience the world to its fullest and live prosperous and satisfying lives. Restoration of vision allows adults to regain independence, return to work, care for their families and embrace the environment around them.
The institute will further research into the improvement and preservation of vision. The Institute will partner with Dell Medical School in achieving its mission of transforming health care around better outcomes, improved patient experiences and lower costs for individual patients and the community as a whole.
The launch of the institute is well underway. The school recently hired Jane Edmond, a national expert and educator in pediatric neuro-ophthalmology and craniofacial disorders, as the institute’s inaugural director and chair of the Department of Ophthalmology. We are excited to see her vision begin to take shape and make a difference in our community.
Get Involved
We hope you will join us in investing in the future of eye care and education in Austin. Your donation will support the Wong Eye Institute’s top priorities: to provide high-quality care to all who need it; to advance research and to educate the next ophthalmology leaders.