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Gies Award
William John Gies Award
Dr. Stephen A. Ralls
– Stephen Ralls
After an exhaustive national search, Dr. Stephen A. Ralls was appointed September 25, 1996, to serve as the fourth executive director and seventh administrative officer of the American College of Dentists. Dr. Ralls is a native of California. He began his dental education at the University of Southern California, School of Dentistry. Upon graduation in 1974 he entered the U.S. Navy, completing a general practice residency at the Naval Regional Medical Center, San Diego. In 1979 Dr. Ralls completed a doctorate in education, also from the University of Southern California. The same year he started a periodontics residency at Indiana University, completing the program in 1981 with a Master of Science in Dentistry degree. Dr. Ralls achieved certification by the American Board of Periodontology in 1984.
Dr. Ralls’ Navy career included a variety of challenging assignments, including dental department head on the USS Dixon (AS-37), Dental Corps plans officer and specialty advisor for dental research for the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, and commanding officer of the Naval Dental Research Institute, Great Lakes. Dr. Ralls achieved the rank of captain in 1990, and he was the first captain to receive the surface warfare designation for medical department officers. He was awarded the Legion of Merit, the Meritorious Service Medal (two awards), and the Navy Commendation Medal (two awards). He has authored or co-authored over sixty articles and abstracts, given numerous professional presentations, and he has received five patents for his research. Dr. Ralls was inducted as a fellow of the American College of Dentists in 1993. Among other honors, he is also a fellow of the International College of Dentists.
On 24 March 1997, Dr. Ralls left the Navy to assume new duties as executive director of the college. In this capacity he served as managing editor
Dr. Stephen A. Ralls
Stephen Ralls, former Executive Director and Past President of the College, on his induction day in 1993.
of the Journal of the American College of Dentists; editor of ACD News, the College newsletter; and secretary of the American College of Dentists Foundation. Dr. Ralls also served as a representative for the Dentistry Section, American Association for the Advancement of Science, member of the Board of Directors of the Friends of the National Library of Medicine, and member of the Board of Directors of the Friends of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research.
As executive director for more than twenty years, Dr. Ralls was centrally involved in the development or improvement of virtually all major College initiatives during his tenure. He focused the College and Foundation on meaningful projects and activities while emphasizing value, relevance, quality, and impact within a context of organizational health. Among other efforts, he organized four ethics summits, developed, and edited the Ethics Handbook for Dentists, created the ethics wallet cards, and proposed and championed the successful at-large regent program. He also had leading roles in the Professional Ethics Initiative, the Ethics Scholarship Program, and integration of the American Society for Dental Ethics.
Dr. Ralls initiated and developed the online presence of the College, which included both programming and acquisition of the key Internet domains. From his efforts the main College website grew steadily to include, among other features, online dues payment and a membership directory. Dr. Ralls was the developer and driving force behind the other major online initiatives, such as Courses Online Dental Ethics (CODE), the Dental Ethics Survey, the Interactive Dental Ethics Application, the multimedia dental history resource, and the leadership resource. Over his term of office, the financial health of both the College and Foundation improved dramatically, while over the same period, projects, activities, and services expanded significantly.
Dr. Ralls has continued his service to the College serving in a variety of elected leadership roles. In 2020, he was elected as President of the American College of Dentists and currently, he serves as the President of the American College of Dentists Foundation. He, along with Dr. Blanton are working on a book devoted to the leaders of the College over the past one hundred years. The publication of this book is slated to coincide with the 50th Anniversary of the American College of Dentists Foundation.
