Latest News Jeffrey and Patricia Cole Donate $31M to Cleveland Clinic Cole Eye Institute By Staff Wednesday, December 7, 2016 12:15 AM CLEVELAND, Oh.—Jeffrey A. Cole and his wife Patricia O’Brien Cole have made a significant gift to continue their philanthropic legacy at the Cleveland Clinic Cole Eye Institute. This $31 million commitment will help Cole Eye Institute expand its clinical and surgical capabilities as well enhance its research and educational mission. This will be accomplished primarily through a future expansion to the existing Cole Eye Institute, and would be named the Jeffrey and Patricia Cole Building.Cleveland Clinic’s Cole Eye Institute has been ranked in the top 10 in the U.S. News & World Report for the past five years. The Cleveland Clinic Cole Eye Institute is a comprehensive eye institute, with over 100 professional staff physicians and researchers who diagnose, treat, and investigate the entire spectrum of conditions of the eye, including complex problems such as diabetic retinopathy, retinal detachments, macular degeneration, glaucoma, cataracts and pediatric eye disorders. Each year, physicians carry out more than 275,000 patient visits and perform more than 13,000 surgeries, volumes that are among the highest in the nation. In addition, the Cole Eye Institute includes basic and clinical research teams dedicated to understanding genetic and non-genetic based eye diseases. “Jeff has been a good friend to the Cole Eye Institute over the years and we are excited to continue our partnership on the next phase of growth that will put us at the forefront of our field,” said Daniel F. Martin, MD, chairman of the Cole Eye Institute and The Barbara and A. Malachi Mixon III Institute Chair of Ophthalmology. In 1999, Jeffrey and his company, Cole National Corporation, which was based in Cleveland for 60 years from 1944 to 2004, contributed the lead gift that established the Cole Eye Institute. This new gift will allow for growth and continued excellence in patient care, research and future growth at the Cole Eye Institute. Cole led Cole National as Chairman and CEO from 1983 until 2003 when the company entered into discussions that led to its sale to Luxottica in 2004. The company was founded by his late father, Joseph E. Cole. It became one of the world’s largest optical companies with brands including Pearle Vision, Sears Optical, Target Optical, EyeMed Managed Vision Care, as well as Things Remembered Gift Stores. Jeffrey Cole co-founded Pearle Europe, now known as GrandVision, in late 1996 with the Dutch investment company HAL Trust. He has served for 20 years as a supervisory board member of GrandVision, now a multinational optical retailer, based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Cole also serves on the boards of Safilo Group and Hilco Vision. A Harvard College and Harvard Business School graduate, Cole has been active on many Cleveland civic, cultural and healthcare boards.