Waterloo Honours Caribbean Optometry Trailblazer Dr. Murchison Callender

By Neil Armstrong

A Trinidadian-Canadian leading researcher of contact lens has been inducted into the Waterloo Region Hall of Fame for his outstanding work and lasting impact in the field of optometry.

Dr. Murchison G. Callender is a graduate of Sir George Williams, now Concordia University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree.

Callender was the first in his family to attend university. He pursued further studies by enrolling in McGill University to research diabetes and the effects of insulin deprivation which led to blindness in the animal model.

It was upon meeting Chloe, a fellow student, who later became his wife, that his interest in the eye developed. At the time, Chloe wore hard contact lenses which made her eyes red after a period of wear. This motivated him to achieve a Doctor of Optometry and a Master of Science in physiology at the University of Waterloo.

A recipient of the Master of Philosophy in Vision Science at Aston University, Birmingham, England, he joined the Faculty of Optometry and Vision Care at the University of Waterloo where he earned international recognition through his research related to contact lenses.

Alison Jackson, chair of the Waterloo Region Hall of Fame board of governors, said Dr. Callender was nominated as a community builder. She said nominations are from the community and that those who proposed his name recognized his work outside of Canada as well.

When he was first appointed to the faculty of the School of Optometry as a professor, Dr. Callender organized and developed a modern contact lens clinic to satisfy the educational needs of a large university-based teaching clinic, while providing service to the public of Waterloo Region. He held several administrative positions, including director of the Contact Lens Clinic and admissions officer.

Dr. Callender was a seminal force in the development of contact lens-related research, focusing on the physiology and microbiology of the cornea and lacrimal system. He established the first university-based scientific protocols for these areas in Canada, notes the Hall of Fame.

The School of Optometry at the University of Waterloo is one of only two such programs in Canada, and the only one with English as the language of instruction. As a result, Dr. Callender’s graduates have practiced across Canada, and his teaching and research have affected the clinical care of millions.

Having studied the impact of vision loss on disadvantaged communities, he established a program for optometry students to set up vision clinics in Jamaica, where local professionals worked alongside students to diagnose and prescribe care.

He also lectured to practitioners in Trinidad and Tobago.

Dr. Callender and Chloe were founding members of the Caribbean Canadian Association of the Waterloo Region, where he served on the board in education and finance.

He has contributed to several Waterloo Region community organizations, including The Congress of Black Women and the Link Picnic Festival.

When he left Trinidad in 1958, he came with a tenor steelpan and started a group in Montreal doing gigs to pay the rent. In the Waterloo Region, he played with the group “Acoustic Steel.”

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