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Orlando appointed to ADEA Student Financial Aid Advisory Committee Congratulations to Angela Orlando, Financial Aid Coordinator on being appointed to a three-year term as a member of the ADEA Student Financial Aid Advisory Committee, beginning at the 2020 ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition. Orlando will contribDean Mert N. Aksu receives 2021 William J. Gies ute on behalf of dental school financial aid Award from American Dental Education Association administrators, address common financial Mert N. Aksu, dean and professor at the University of Detroit Mercy School of issues and discuss educational debt within Dentistry, has been named a recipient of the 2021 American Dental Education the field of dentistry. Association’s (ADEA) Gies Award for Vision – Dental Educator. The William J. Gies Awards are the most coveted honors in oral health and dental education and recognize the efforts of individuals, institutions and organizations that exemplify the highest standards of vision, innovation and achievement in oral health and dental education. Aksu was nominated for his ability to institute changes now to address issues in the future. His unique and unconventional approach to dental education and oral health care have positively impacted the faculty, students and patients he serves. In his pledge to ensure the safety and well-being of faculty, staff, students and patients, he co-invented a Class I, FDA approved patent-pending chairside aerosol mitigation system (AeMS, LLC) which is in place on all units in the dental clinic. This device contributes to safe dental patient care with approximately 1,200 devices being used nationwide. “Throughout his career, Dean Aksu has addressed challenges in a creative and forward-looking manner, said Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Pamela Zarkowski, who also received a Gies award in 2017. “This award demonstrates that his peers recognize his passion for and dedication to Detroit Mercy Dental’s students, employees, colleagues and the patients they serve. I am grateful for his leadership and contributions to the School and University.” Aksu will receive his award along with seven other Gies awardees on March 12, 2021, in conjunction with the virtual 2021 ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition.
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Delta Dental grant The University of Detroit Mercy proudly received a grant of $135,000 from Delta Dental of Michigan, part of a multi-year project to improve the oral health of children in the tri-county area. The intent of the grant is to support the framework for a longitudinal study on childhood caries, while expanding the reach and services of Detroit Mercy Dental Mobile Clinics and partnerships with Federally Qualified Health Centers. The funds will help establish a school-based preventive oral health services program in partnership with MyCare in Macomb County, and a dental clinic in collaboration with Wayne County Health Communities in Hamtramck.
