Foundation of Success

This summer, I had the opportunity to visit with Dr. William E. Brown, founding dean of the University of Oklahoma College of Dentistry, or as everyone called him, Bill Brown, and ask him what it was like starting a new dental school. Bill lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with his dog, Faye, and turned 96 this past August. During our conversation, he sounded like, and was as sharp as, the dean who hired me 42 years ago. Since he retired in 1987, with less than one-third of OU dental and dental hygiene graduates ever knowing him, I suggested to Dean Cohlmia that we should do a story on Dean Brown and his story about founding the college.

move. With his wife suddenly gone, Bill came to Oklahoma alone with the task of developing a curriculum and designing a new dental facility. In the summer of 1969, Bill moved to Oklahoma City and settled into the first home of the OU College of Dentistry, a house on NE 14th Street. During the next couple of years, plans progressed for establishing a dental hygiene and dental program.

The College of Dentistry Begins to Take Shape The Oklahoma dental program was a great challenge starting from scratch but had great potential. Because there was no history to follow, there were no traditions to contend with or expectations to meet; it was essentially a blank canvas. This allowed for a good deal of creative freedom. The mission of the college established under Dean Brown’s tenure was to educate and train dentists to provide for the clinical needs of Oklahomans, and that mission has not changed since the school was founded.

18 The University of Oklahoma-College of Dentistry / 2019 Magazine Before the OU College of Dentistry Dean Brown grew up in Benton Harbor, Michigan, where his father was a practicing dentist. In 1945, Bill earned his doctor of dental surgery degree from the University of Michigan School of Dentistry. Briefly after, he joined his father in his dental practice, eventually returning to the University of Michigan School of Dentistry for specialty training in pediatric dentistry. After completing his specialty training, he practiced pediatric dentistry in Ann Arbor, Michigan, for 15 years and served on the faculty in the Department of Pediatric Dentistry. He attained the rank of full professor in 1961 and transitioned to a full-time faculty member in 1962. He also served as associate dean for graduate and post-graduate dentistry. Concurrent with his leadership role in dental education, he became very involved in organized dentistry and served as president of the Michigan Dental Association, the American Society of Dentistry for Children and the American Academy of Pedodontics. The Move to Oklahoma In 1969, the Oklahoma Legislature approved a bill to establish a dental school in Oklahoma. At the 1968 American Dental Association meeting, Dr. Larson Keso, chair of the search committee (currently a part-time faculty member in the OU Department of Orthodontics), and several committee members met with several dean candidates, including Dr. Bill Brown. Following that meeting, Dr. Brown was one of four candidates invited to tour the campus in Oklahoma City. Bill said the excitement of starting a new school and the earmarked financial support from the HERO Bond program for a new building were critical in his decision to apply for deanship. After two more trips to Oklahoma, meeting with the search committee members and university leadership, he was named dean in 1969 by then OU president J. Herbert Holloman. At the March 17, 1969, meeting, the regents of the University of Oklahoma announced Brown’s appointment, effective Aug. 1, 1969. There were many challenges in starting the new school, especially with the unexpected death of his wife a week before they were to Bill had some serious work to do before the first class could convene, including designing a curriculum, articulating the architectural specifications for new buildings and finding a temporary facility for the clinical program until permanent facilities could be completed. But one of his biggest trials was hiring quality faculty who would educate students to provide high-quality clinical care in a wide range of disciplines. At that time in Oklahoma, the number of dental specialists was few, and this was especially true in rural areas. Also, many prospective faculty candidates knew nothing about Oklahoma, except for the tornados (he tried not to recruit in the spring). Although it posed as a challenge, Bill was very successful in hiring a high-quality faculty. The first faculty member hired was Albert F. Staples, a former associate professor of oral surgery at Baylor University College of Dentistry. Other prominent dental faculty included Drs. Herbert Shillingburg, Earl Collard, Don Welk, Dick Mathewson, Ram Nanda, Dean Johnson, Richard Reynolds, Tom Glass, Frank Miranda, Stewart Shaprio, Manville Duncanson and Don L. Whisett. Many of them were young and had Michigan ties because of Dr. Brown’s Michigan affiliation. In fact, OU at times was referred to as Michigan South. This group of founding faculty had a profound impact on dental education and published textbooks on fixed prosthodontics, removable prosthodontics and pediatric dentistry that were used throughout the world. But one thing they all had in common was taking on the challenge of creating a new clinical model, in which they succeeded. Brown quickly spelled out his vision for an OU dental education, which included two nontraditional approaches. One, students would be exposed to patients in their first year of school to effectively marry scientific education with the real world instead of the traditional third year. Secondly, he wanted a clinical curriculum to put OU on the map, a model other schools later followed. The first program to be initiated was the two-year Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene program. The dental hygiene program took its first class in 1972 and was composed of 16 students. The

construction of the new dental facility was only in its infancy, so the dental hygiene program was located in a house next to the OU College of Dentistry offices on NE 14th Street. That house served as the program’s classroom and clinical facility from 1971-1975. The dental hygiene program graduated its first class in 1974 under the leadership of Sharon Barton, chair of the Dental Hygiene Department.

The first dental class, composed of 24 students, was admitted in 1972. Classes and laboratories were held on the third floor of the Basic Sciences Education Building, adjacent to the current building. An interim clinical building was constructed where the current parking structure sits on Stonewall Avenue. The facility was used until the current building was completed in 1976, which was also the year the first dental class graduated.

Dental education programs are always one of the most expensive educational programs at any university, so budgets are always a concern. Bill said that the funding in the 1970s was very good for education, and in the 1980s, it was the opposite. With the oil burst, state funding was reduced, and has continued to this day.

Closure of the School One of the most significant events impacting the OU College of Dentistry occurred in January 1987 when Gov. Henry Bellmon announced during his State of the State address that he wanted to close the OU College of Dentistry. Shock is the only word to describe the reaction of faculty, students, staff and university officials. There had been no warning, and to this day, no verified explanation as to what prompted Gov. Bellmon to make that decision. One explanation put forth was the concern of the dental community that the college was educating too many dentists, which was having a negative impact on the financial condition of their practices. Also, during this period of time, seven dental schools across the United States had closed for a variety of reasons, but all had some financial component associated with them. As a result of the hard work of Dean Brown, the college faculty, staff, students, university administration, key legislators and dental leaders, the college was victorious. Bill said many lessons were learned from that experience, but a critical one is the need to continually get the message out about the positive impact the college has on Oklahomans through patient care and education, and the need to maintain a strong relationship with the practicing dental community.

The cost of the new dental building was $11 million, which is one-tenth of the cost of what a new dental school would cost today, and took three years to complete. One question Bill was frequently asked during his time as dean, and a question that is still asked today, was if the school was intentionally designed to resemble a molar tooth. To my surprise, Bill said no, it was the internal design based on the location of the clinical modules, which accidentally resulted in the molar-like, outside appearance of the building.

One change in dental education noted by Dr. Brown since his time as dean has been the increase in female applicants and students. There were no female students in the first OU dental class and only one in the second dental graduating class. Today, 50 percent of dental students are women.

One disappointment during his tenure of dean was his inability to build a stronger research program. Like today, research funding was very tight and funding was focused on a few dental schools, so his focus was on clinical education.

The End of an Era At the end of 1987, Bill decided to retire as founding dean after serving 18 years in that position. In retirement, Bill volunteered with the Oklahoma City Red Cross and played a significant role with the organization during the Murrah Bombing in 1995. After the passing of his second wife, he moved back to Ann Arbor, where one of his children, Wendy Kerschbaum, was director of the University of Michigan School of Dentistry dental hygiene program. The legacy of excellence and innovation in dental education that Bill established at the University of Oklahoma College of Dentistry lives on. Faculty, staff, students and patients have all benefited from Dean Brown’s efforts and continue to build upon this foundation of high-quality education.

Thank you, Bill!