A safe return

Message from the School of Dentistry

This year will go down in history, that is for certain. Our entire world has changed as a result of recent events. I am amazed that we have been able to (safely) continue running our programs, and this can be attributed to the many hours of work put in by our faculty and staff. It has not been an easy process as we had to provide evidence of enhanced safety protocols and procedures, which not only had to be developed but communicated and reinforced with all students, staff and faculty. These protocols and procedures are non-negotiable, and our students are very much appreciative of their ability to continue their hands-on, in-person learning in a safe space. The five-part series in this publication highlights this nicely.

Despite the challenges this year has brought, we managed to wrap up a successful fundraising project, raising over $8 million for underserved populations, student bursaries and research. We graduated the first Dental Hygiene degree graduates and completed the implementation of the new DDS curriculum for the first years.

Another big announcement the school has recently made is the recruitment of two ADA&C endowed chairs. The Oral Health Research and Dentistry Research Endowed Chairs have been established with a generous five-year pledge from the ADA&C and will be held by Dr. Daniel Graf, Associate Professor in the Division of Foundational Sciences and Dr. Maryam Amin, Professor in the Division of Pediatric Dentistry. Dr. Amin is also the successful candidate for the Associate Chair, Research position as Dr. Pat Flood has retired.

So you can see that the School of Dentistry has been very busy during these unprecedented times as I am certain you all are as well.