About FIU BusinessWertheim Lecture Series

Dr. Herbert A. Wertheim, who endowed this lecture series, is an inventor, educator, scientist, eye physician, clinician, entrepreneur, philanthropist and community leader. His enduring discoveries and contributions to eye care and other scientific fields have touched millions of people during his forty years of eye research.

Dr. Wertheim is founder and chairman of Brain Power, Inc., (BPI), the world’s largest manufacturer of ophthalmic instruments and chemicals for eye care professionals and optical laboratories, with extensive research and manufacturing facilities in the US and Europe.  He is or has been one of the majority shareholders, chairman or board member of eighteen private, NYSE or NASDQ companies in banking, health care, aerospace, real estate, transportation, and diverse high tech industries. He was a member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) and currently is a member of the Chief Executives Organization (CEO) and of the World Presidents Organization (WPO).  He was a US naval aviator and is a licensed multi-engine pilot, as well as a US Coast Guard licensed captain in the US Merchant Marine.

Dr. Wertheim has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors and board member of  Florida International University’s Foundation and its 42,000 students, faculty, and staff from 1988 through 2001.  He is a founding member of Florida International University’s Board of Trustees since its establishment by the Florida Legislature in 2000 and was reappointed for a second term by Governor Bush in 2003.

Dr. Wertheim also is a member of numerous local and national charitable boards. And, he serves as chairman of the Dr. Herbert and Nicole Wertheim Family Foundation, which has supported hundreds of local and international educational, cultural, sporting, and community health care organizations around the world with millions of dollars in financial aid and grants.  The Wertheim Foundation was the founding benefactor of the Koala and River Otter projects at Miami Metro Zoo. The Wertheim Foundation was the first to fund a five-year PBS contract for National Geographic and ten other science and cultural programs for WPBT Miami Public Television.