Wheaton College Alumni Magazine Winter 2013 | Page 43

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world-class medicine
by Jessica L. Bernthal
I was simply stunned by the intricate
beauty of the human eye,” says Ruth, an
ophthalmologist for more than 20 years.
The former chair of ophthalmology for the
American Medical Association (AMA),
she’s now the president of the American
Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO)—
the largest national organization of eye
doctors representing 31,000 physicians
globally. Ruth is also the president of the
Wheaton Eye Clinic in Wheaton, Illinois,
a nationally recognized eye care facility.

Humble beginnings
didn’t stop this
alumna from
becoming a leader
in her medical
specialty.

a session on insurance policy, she pulled
an “all nighter” researching a topic she
previously knew little about.
“I learned so much,” she says. “That’s
really what started me down the path
of learning about healthcare and public
policy.” The experience also dramatically
increased her visibility. Elected president
of the AAO in 2010, she’s the second
woman ever to hold that title.

Perhaps more impressive, given her
credentials, is Ruth’s humility and
accessibility. She still sees patients two
days a week, is married to Wheaton
classmate Dr. Step hen Gieser ’82 (also an
ophthalmologist at Wheaton Eye Clinic),
and is the mother of three teenagers.

Pop quiz: After the brain,
what is the most complex
organ in the human body?

Hint: It’s composed of more than two million
working parts, it can process 36,000 bits
of information per hour, and we use it at
least 10 to 20 times per minute. It isn’t the
heart, and it isn’t the lungs. In fact, this
organ weighs only 28 grams.
Give up?

The answer is . . . the eye.
And for Dr. Ruth Williams ’82, it’s nothing
short of fascinating. “In medical school

Growing up in Wyoming, Ruth had not
traveled east of Denver before she came
to Wheaton College. And even after she
earned her medical degree, she was one
of very few women in the AMA, which
was dominated by Caucasian men 25 to
35 years her senior.
“I was different,” says Ruth, “which
actually gave me an advantage.” Singled
out by one of her mentors early in her
career, she was chosen as a delegate to
the AMA representing ophthalmology.
“I was asked to do a job that was too
big for me . . . and I did it,” she says
with amazement. Assigned to moderate

Ruth hopes to use her position of
influence to help cultivate young
physicians in the field. “The leaders of
tomorrow don’t always look like leaders,”
she notes. “Embrace what’s different
about you. Those are the very things that
make you stand out.”
Locally, Ruth hopes to continue the
tradition of quality, affordable care at
Wheaton Eye Clinic, at a time of “great
tumult in the healthcare arena.”
“I see it as an extraordinary opportunity,”
she says. “We’ve always been a special
place. But now we have a chance to
position Wheaton Eye Clinic as a model
for providing efficient, cost-effective eye
care—not just in Illinois, but also in the
nation.”
Aside from that, Ruth admits she’s not
one for setting too many long-range
goals. “If I crafted my own life it would
have been much different from this,”
she laughs. “That’s the God part of the
story.”

W H E A T O N     45