Dentistry Magazine | 2024
For the School of Dentistry Community
A message from the Dean
Another year has passed since issuing our last edition of Dentistry and it’s been a year full of promise, change, and achieving great things at the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry.
Campus connections
Your annual updates from campus.
Moves in Moos
Moments in Moos Tower
From orientation to graduation and everything in between, here’s what happened on campus this year.
Cheers to the Class of 2024!
The School of Dentistry celebrated its 135th Commencement Ceremony on May 10, 2024, honoring 183 graduates across programs. “Today marks a tremendous milestone for our graduates: the culmination of academic goals and lifelong dreams,” said Dean Keith Mays, DDS, MS, PhD, in his remarks. The ceremony featured a keynote address from Michael Zakula, DDS ’76, past president of the Minnesota Dental Association, Vice President of the Minnesota Dental Foundation Board, secretary on the Stratacor Board of Directors and member of the School of Dentistry Admissions Committee. “Dentistry will give you more than you can ever repay,” he reflected. “It gave me a profession, but it also gave me a purpose. It connected me with people that I may never have known otherwise, and provided me with opportunities to help others.”
Smiles, given.
The school held its 20th annual Give Kids a Smile event in February 2024, joining the national event with a team of students led by co-chairs Miranda Thacker, Alex Oberg and Emily Padilla, DDS ’25. Volunteers saw 64 children aged 15 and younger, providing examinations, x-rays, cleanings and fluoride varnishes, as well as any needed additional care that extends beyond the day of the event. “We coordinated with dental hygiene students, dental therapy students, medical students and social work students to provide comprehensive care for the children who attended, as well as materials on speech screenings,” Thacker explained. “I believe these interprofessional collaborations are important to emphasize the connection of oral health to systemic health.”
White Coat Ceremony
The school welcomed 134 new clinical learners at the White Coat Ceremony on September 6, 2024. Members of the DDS Class of 2028, Dental Therapy Class of 2027 and Dental Hygiene Class of 2026 received their coats in a time-honored tradition commemorating their entrance into the profession. Attendees heard a keynote from Andy Aldrich, DDS ’20, general dentist and adjunct assistant clinical professor in the Division of Operative Dentistry. Aldrich focused on the awesome responsibility of oral health care. “Patients put a lot of trust in us, in a way that isn’t necessarily afforded to others they interact with on any given day,” he explained. “To heal, especially in a way that patients cannot do for themselves, is a privilege.” He encouraged the new learners to be kind to themselves, embrace relationships and act with integrity.
White Coat Ceremony honors first-year DDS, Dental Therapy and Dental Hygiene learners
People
The School of Dentistry community is great because of our people: the faculty, staff and students who work their hardest and achieve excellence. We would like to honor some of the people in our midst who achieved great things this year. Faculty and staff showed their commitment to research, community service, organized dentistry and excellence in care.
Staff Recognition
Bisnett to reprise role as Team Leader in Paralympic Games
Hibbing Community College Dental Clinic receives two grants to support equipment upgrades
Mobile Dental Clinic shortlisted for Denobi Award
Noblett inducted as Pierre Fauchard Academy Fellow
Rhodus added to Scholars Walk on Foreign Academies
Shuman recognized as MDDS Guest of Honor
Special Healthcare Needs Clinic receives MDH grant to improve technology and facilities
Reibel receives ADHA IOH grant for work with Adoption Medicine Clinic
Student Recognition
Students excelled in and out of the classroom this year, and they received the recognition to prove it.
Aitken receives AADOCR Student Research Travel Award
Dental Hygiene student group recognized for excellence with Tony Diggs Award
Dentistry learners participate, place in CLARION case competition
Kalyana Mondreti receives President's Student Leadership and Service Award
Niemann receives Sigma Phi Alpha Excellence in Journalism Award
Shekarabi becomes first School of Dentistry student to compete in 3-Minute Thesis
Remembering Dean Richard Elzay
Richard P. Elzay, DDS, MSD, former dean of the School of Dentistry, passed away in December 2023. Elzay was the ninth dean of the School of Dentistry, serving from 1986 until 1996. He joined the school as a leader during unsettled, yet challenging and exciting times.
Student Life
Get to know current students, and see how they are making an impact in and outside the clinics.
Discovering Dental School
A program providing support to prospective dental students continues to grow and serve learners in new and powerful ways.
More in Student Life
First Gen Proud at the School of Dentistry
Student-led program introduces prospective learners to the reality of dental school
StoryMaps project enhances understanding, inspires cross-curricular learning
Orthodontics resident provides a lesson in Black history
This Year in Research
The School of Dentistry maintains a commitment to lifelong discovery through research. Our researchers have 59 active awards, including awards from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, the National Cancer Institute and Industry leaders. Researchers produced 123 publications in Calendar Year 2023.
Research Innovations Seminar Series explores discoveries impacting patient care
More research stories:
Get to know the 2024 Veden Grant awardees
Herzberg receives honorary degree from Malmo University
TEATL grant introduces learners to teledentistry care
20th annual Research Day brings together researchers in the fight against oral cancer
Alumni and Development
Alumni & Development Team
Chief Development Officer
Director of Alumni Relations
Alumni at the fourth-annual Alumni Weekend on campus. Read more about Alumni Weekend.
From left: Cynthia Stull, DHSc, MDH, RDH, Director of the Division of Dental Hygiene with 2023 Distinguished Alumni Awardees, Shelley Rice '84 and Scott Lingle, DDS ’79. Read more about our awardees.
