On Campus: Highlights

For the first time in three years, GSDM graduates were able to walk across the stage at the BU Track & Tennis Center and receive their diplomas and certificates in person to cheers and applause from the audience.

The event capped a week of inperson events celebrating the Class of 2022, a welcome return to something approaching normalcy after two years of restrictions required by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite a lingering shadow cast by COVID-19 – masks were strongly recommended but not required – the tone was celebratory throughout the week, as members of the Class of 2022 and their family and friends delighted in gathering together to recognize the graduates’ achievements.

The identity of the predoctoral valedictorians was kept secret until the commencement ceremony, when it was revealed that – for the first time ever – there was a three-way tie for the top spot in the DMD class, with Drs. Grace Kapov, Anoush Longerstaey, and Marc Youkel sharing that honor. Dr. Maitry Parekh was the valedictorian for the DMD Advanced Standing Class of 2022.

View more photos from Commencement 2022 on Flickr.

White Coat Ceremony

More than 200 GSDM students donned their white coats for the first time on Friday, July 8, in front of cheering friends and family during the school’s annual White Coat Ceremony.

The ceremony marks the half-way point in students’ dental-school experience and celebrates their entrance into the school’s Patient Treatment Centers. Students from the school’s Doctor of Dental Medicine Class of 2024 and Doctor of Dental Medicine Advanced Standing Class of 2023 participated in this year’s ceremony. Almost 700 people were in attendance, the first time that family and friends have been able to participate in person since 2019 due to restrictions required by the COVID-19 pandemic.

View more photos from the White Coat Ceremony on Flickr.

Professional Ceremony

More than 200 students were officially welcomed into the field of dentistry – and to the Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine – during the school’s annual Professional Ceremony, held on July 29 on Talbot Green.

The Professional Ceremony marks a student’s entry into dental school and signifies their commitment to promoting the integrity of the profession and to serving the needs of those who require oral healthcare. Several hundred people attended this year’s ceremony, which was the culminating event of a week-long matriculation and celebrated the entering members of the Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) Class of 2026 and DMD Advanced Standing (DMD AS) Class of 2024. Students in the DMD Class of 2026 come from nine countries, including the United States, and from 20 states, while students in the DMD AS Class of 2024 represent 26 countries, including the United States.

View more photos from the Professional Ceremony on Flickr.

New leadership for Admissions, Restorative Sciences & Biomaterials

Dr. Robert Kasberg joined GSDM as the school’s new assistant dean for admissions in July 2022. Dr. Kasberg came from Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, where he served as the associate dean for admissions & student affairs.

Dr. Kasberg is well-versed in dental school admissions best practices and is committed to building a culture of inclusivity and academic excellence through the recruitment of diverse and outstanding students.

Dr. Kasberg holds a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis as well as a master’s degree and Ph.D., both in anthropology, from Yale University. He has extensive experience in dental academia, having served as the director of admissions and the assistant dean for student affairs at Indiana University School of Dentistry (IUSD) before joining Tufts in 2012. Earlier in his career, Dr. Kasberg served as a U.S. Navy Corpsman for four years; after his discharge from the Navy, he spent six years in the U.S. Peace Corps, working on the island of Mindoro in the Philippines in the areas of community development, land tenure issues, healthcare training, and agroforestry.

At both IUSD and at Tufts, Dr. Kasberg spearheaded efforts to create and support diverse and inclusive communities. At IUSD, he implemented strategies to admit a more diverse class, including creating a predental student organization for students from economically disadvantaged households. At Tufts, he developed initiatives that supported the admission of the most diverse classes in the school’s history, and started an Adapting to Diversity in Dentistry seminar series for faculty. Dr. Konstantinos Michalakis was appointed the chair of the school’s Department of Restorative Sciences and Biomaterials in January 2022. Prior to joining GSDM, he was a professor and director of Graduate Prosthodontics at the Aristotle University School of Dentistry, where he also served as director of the Dental Biomechanics Unit. He holds an appointment as adjunct associate professor of prosthodontics at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine.

Dr. Michalakis is a diplomate of the American Board of Prosthodontics and directed 12 postdoctoral courses in prosthodontics. Dr. Michalakis has more than 60 peer-reviewed publications, has authored two books, and has been successful in obtaining research funding from industry and university sources. His honors and awards include fellowship in the American College of Prosthodontics, associate fellowship in the Academy of Prosthodontists, and fellowship in the International College of Dentists.

Dr. Michalakis received a DDS degree in 1983 and a PhD in 2001, both from the School of Dentistry, Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, Greece. He received a CAGS in Prosthodontics in 1993 from Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, Boston. He holds a MS in Applied Biomechanics from the Department of Bioengineering, School of Engineering, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, United Kingdom (2008), and a MS in Experimental and Translational Therapeutics, Departments of Continuing Education and Oncology, School of Medicine, University of Oxford, United Kingdom (2021). He also completed a Certificate in Executive Leadership for Healthcare Professionals at the Sloan Program in Health Administration at Cornell University in 2016.

Leila Joy Rosenthal, beloved by students and colleagues, retires after 43 years

Leila Joy Rosenthal retired from GSDM in May 2022, after 43 years of service to the school and more than 60 years of affiliation with Boston University.

Her connection with BU started as an undergraduate student, when she matriculated into the BFA program at the BU College for the Arts in 1960. After earning her BFA in 1964, she continued on at the College for the Arts, earning an MFA in 1965. She then returned to earn another painting major under the MFA in 1967. In 1965, she earned a teaching certificate from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Education. In 1976, she began studying dental technology at GSDM, and in 1979, she graduated with a Certificate in Dental Technology and joined the school as a dental technologist. Leila Joy was appointed to the faculty in 1985 at the rank of clinical instructor. In 1986, she was promoted to clinical assistant professor; she was promoted again in 2001 and 2012, to clinical associate professor and clinical professor respectively. As a faculty member, Leila Joy dedicated herself to the pursuit of excellence in dental laboratory sciences through her teaching and mentorship to countless students.

Leila Joy gave tirelessly and enthusiastically of herself to the school and the profession and has been recognized throughout the years with numerous awards, including the Dr. Ernest LeClaire Educator of the Year Award from Massachusetts Dental Society in 2004 and the school’s Spencer N. Frankl Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1999. She also received the Omicron Kappa Epsilon Lambda Mu Honor Society’s Gold Key Award in 1991, one of numerous awards and recognitions from GSDM over the years.

Leila Joy was active in organized dentistry and served as presiding chair or room coordinator for the Massachusetts Dental Society’s Yankee Dental Congress for more than 20 years. She was a member of the Massachusetts Dental Society's Standing Committee on Allied Dental Health Professionals and chaired the sub-committee to develop strategies for attracting more candidates to the Dental Technicians' Program at Middlesex Community College.

Amongst her many artistic talents, Leila Joy sang as tenor for the Zamir Chorale of Boston since 1981, and in her “free time” taught classes at the MFA for more than 60 years. She did some illustrations for Dr. Henry M. Goldman and for Dr. Serge Dibart’s book on Periodontal Plastic surgery.

Dr. Celeste Kong, long-time school leader and mentor, retires after 40 years of service

Dr. Celeste Kong PROS 84 DMD 87 retired from GSDM on May 31, 2022, after almost 40 years of dedicated service. Dr. Kong was an invaluable member of our school community, and she will be missed tremendously.

Dr. Kong first arrived at GSDM in 1982 as a prosthodontic resident, after graduating from the University of the Philippines College of Dentistry with a DMD and practicing in Germany for a year. She joined the GSDM faculty in 1984 as a clinical instructor, and then went on to complete a DMD at GSDM, through the faculty DMD program. She was promoted, first to assistant professor, then to associate professor, and, finally, in 2008, to full professor.

Dr. Kong was a true leader at GSDM. She served as the long-time director of the Predoctoral Restorative Dentistry Division, and then became the first woman of color to chair a department at GSDM when she was named chair of General Dentistry in 2016, after serving nearly two years as the chair ad interim. She made countless contributions to the school, but a few that stand out include her work as the co-chair of the school’s 2010 Applied Strategic Plan and her work to develop electronic evaluation tools in restorative dentistry as well as to implement Case Presentations as part of the predoctoral assessment tools. She served two terms on the Faculty Council and chaired the Subcommittee on Compensation and Benefits, increasing her awareness of the need for equity. For the last four years, she served on the medical campus Women’s Leadership Advisory Council as they developed best practices for diversity in hiring. In 1999, she was voted into OKU by her colleagues, and in 2004, she was honored with the Spencer N Frankl Award for Excellence in Teaching. In 2010, she received the Dean’s Award for Recognition of Outstanding Contribution to the School.

One of the things that many admire most about Dr. Kong is her commitment to supporting and developing her colleagues. She has worked on more than 170 appointments and promotions packages for colleagues, and has sponsored more than 30 colleagues for fellowship in the International College of Dentists, an organization for which she currently serves as Deputy Regent for District 1. She is incredibly generous with her time and her advice, and serves as a trusted mentor to countless GSDM students, faculty, and alumni.