Dr. Robert F. Tobin, president/surgeon, Tobin Eye Institute, St. Joseph, MO, has been named to the board of trustees of Saint Michael's College in Burlington, Vt., Dr. Tobin’s alma mater. He attended the first meeting of his three-year term on the 31-member board, October 3-5.
With this meeting, Dr. Tobin rejoined the Saint Michael’s board, having served previously from 2002-2011.
He is a 1964 graduate of Saint Michael’s College with a bachelor’s degree in English literature. Following graduation he served in the Peace Corps in Colombia, South America (1964-65). He earned his M.D. from Creighton University in 1970, and did internships and residencies in ophthalmology at the University of Missouri Kansas City.
Dr. Tobin, an ophthalmologist, certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology, was president and surgeon at Tobin Eye Institute from 1974 to 2013. He is now retired. He was a visiting surgeon at the Netraprakash Eye Camp, Ganeshpuri, India, from 1991 to 1999. He served as president of the Missouri Ophthalmological Society in 1985, and was a captain in the U.S. Army Medical Corps, Reserves, 1971-77.
As an undergraduate, Dr. Tobin was a charter member of the Saint Michael’s varsity soccer team. He established the “Doc” Citarella Scholarship for scholar-athletes with his friend Richard Endrelunas, Esq. (SMC ’64) to honor Professor Armand Citarella who was a highly regarded classics scholar and the college’s soccer coach. Dr. Tobin co-chaired his Saint Michael’s 40th Reunion in 2004
Dr. Tobin and his wife Susan reside in St. Joseph, MO. They have a blended family of eight children and nine grandchildren. Their daughter Katheryn is a 1994 graduate of Saint Michael's College.