Foundation History: Where Ethics Meets Action—Remembering Dr. Dows She launched her career at Bellville Foundation Clinic, where she remained for several years. She married Henry Dows in 1952 and shortly after started her general dentistry practice in Short Hills. She retired in 2006.
Dr. Cecelia L. Dows was born in Bayonne, New Jersey, and graduated from Bayonne High School in 1936. She was a member of Fordham University’s first class to include female students, graduating in 1941 with a Bachelor’s of Science in chemistry. As a young chemist, she worked for Standard Oil of New York. Cecelia applied to New York University Dental School in 1943, entering as the only woman in that class. While she never intended to be a pioneer, destiny obviously had different plans for her. She would remark later in life that “it’s probably difficult to believe now, but I was very shy before I entered dental school. Because I had to prove myself over and over as a woman in a nearly solid male fortress, I found my voice, and I have never stopped speaking out about issues that affect the future of the profession that I love.”
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During her career, Dr. Dows served as president of the Bayonne Council of Social Agencies, New York/ New Jersey Area Association of Women Dentists, and the Essex County Dental Society. Dr. Dows was a Fellow of the American College of Dentists and past member of the Bayonne Board of Education. Additionally, Dr. Dows was the first female president of the Pierre Fauchard Academy and the first female president of the Essex County Dental Society. She has also served as president of the New Jersey chapter of the American Association of Women Dentists. In 1980, she was presented the Woman of the Year Award by the New Jersey Association of Women Physicians. She was an active member of New Jersey Dental Association and American Dental Association and dedicated her life to volunteerism and leadership in her profession. When establishing the Dr. Cecelia L. Dows Fund in 2006, she stated: “There is no mystery why I want to support the American College of Dentists. The College does good work and is the epitome of human integrity and commitment.” Dr. Cecelia Dows endowed a scholarship program that was centered on education in ethics.
“There is no mystery why I want to support the American College of Dentists. The College does good work and is the epitome of human integrity and commitment.” She believed as legendary activist and reformer Jane Addams believed that “action is the sole medium of ethics.” For more than a decade the Cecelia Dows Fund has generously provided scholarship for advanced training in ethics and our Fellows have gone on to provide training in ethics and professionalism at the local, regional, national, and international level. Applications for the Cecelia L. Dows Scholarship for Advanced Studies in Ethics are taken each year through March 1 for the subsequent academic year (March 2022 for academic year 2022-2023). This scholarship is available to both Fellows and non-Fellows for either a Master’s or PhD in ethics at any fully accredited university. Recent Dows Scholars have graduated from Harvard and Creighton.
