George B. Bartley, MD
George B. Bartley, MD, is the 12th ophthalmologist to serve as Chief Executive Officer of the American Board of Ophthalmology, the nation’s first medical specialty certification board. Dr. Bartley is the Louis and Evelyn Krueger Professor of Ophthalmology at the Mayo Clinic and Chief Executive Officer Emeritus of Mayo Clinic in Florida. He was honored with the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s Laureate Award in 2020 and the American Ophthalmological Society’s AOS Medal in 2024.
Dr. Bartley earned a bachelor's degree at Miami University in 1978 and a medical degree at the Ohio State University College of Medicine in 1981. After completing an internship in Columbus, he pursued residency training in ophthalmology at the Mayo Clinic and subspecialty training in ophthalmic plastic and orbital surgery at Wright State University. Dr. Bartley joined the Department of Ophthalmology at Mayo Clinic in 1986, was appointed Department Chair in 1992, and served in that role until he was elected to the Mayo Clinic Board of Governors in 2001. The following year, he was appointed CEO of Mayo’s operations in Florida.
During Dr. Bartley’s term as CEO, Mayo Clinic Florida built a state-of-the-art hospital, doubled extramural funding for research, significantly exceeded fundraising targets, and achieved the highest patient satisfaction scores of any Mayo site. Additionally, he served as Vice President for Quality for Mayo Clinic nationwide. Non-medical activities included membership on the Florida Council of 100, an advisory body appointed by Governor Jeb Bush of 100 business leaders.
Dr. Bartley resumed his surgical practice at Mayo Clinic Rochester in 2009. The author or coauthor of more than 250 publications, Bartley’s most notable works are his thesis for the American Ophthalmological Society on the epidemiology of Graves’ ophthalmopathy and his thesis for the American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery on lacrimal drainage obstruction. His writings have ranged from baseball to gardening to the blindness of the poet John Milton to the ideas of the philosopher Francis Bacon.
In 2012, Dr. Bartley was appointed as Editor-in-Chief of Ophthalmology, regarded by many as the premier journal in the field. During his term, the journal’s impact factor increased from 5.56 to 8.20 and a companion journal, Ophthalmology Retina, was launched. He previously served as the Editor-in-Chief of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and as an editorial board member of Ophthalmology, the American Journal of Ophthalmology, and the Archives of Ophthalmology.
Dr. Bartley has served as President of the American Ophthalmological Society, a Trustee of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, past President of the Cogan Ophthalmic History Society, and past Chair of the Doctors Mayo Society. He currently serves on the Foundation Advisory Board of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the Board of Directors of the American Board of Medical Specialties.
Board certified in 1986, Dr. Bartley served as an ABO Director from 1999 to 2006, has voluntarily recertified twice, and participates in the Continuing Certification program.