A ‘gaze toward tomorrow’
The UNC Adams School of Dentistry is not only shaping the future of dental education and dental research, but the oral health of individuals and communities at home and around the world.
The date October 12, marks the laying of the cornerstone of Old East: this institution’s first building and the oldest state university building in the nation. As we approach the 225th anniversary of this great “university of the people,” it is easy to look to the past – a past marked by an amazingly rich tradition of excellence.
For our School of Dentistry, our beginning dates back to September 1950, and incredible advances in patient care, education and research have marked our growth from two humble Quonset huts to being rated the number two dental school in the world. At UNC Dentistry, our gaze is toward tomorrow, not yesterday, and our focus is on the future, not our past.
We have embarked on a bold, aspirational and fearless journey to not only advance our future in Chapel Hill but to shape the future of oral health worldwide. Our students, staff, faculty and alumni have embraced now as the time to establish the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Dentistry as the global model for oral health education, in care and discovery.
At our school, we believe the best way to achieve that goal, that vision, is to live daily our school values of passionately serving our people, our community, and our field, through inclusiveness and beyond excellence – because at the core of our profession is humanity and service.
Our school, like our University, remains a destination for the best and brightest students, the most dedicated and caring staff, and incredibly transformative and impactful educators. The School of Dentistry is committed to retaining and recruiting the very best people in a collaborative and diverse environment. Our goal is to achieve this through engaging and supporting students, staff and faculty in finding work-life balance and wellness; creating novel career development, mentoring, and retention programs; and doing our part to attract new talent to join our University.
We are forging a new path for oral health education by reinventing a contemporary curriculum and revolutionizing operations. Each day at our school, we take new steps forward to embrace new and emerging educational technology to maximize learning. We work to reimagine academic, administrative, and support structures; to identify new opportunities for interprofessional collaboration; and to pursue new public-private partnerships.
Within our walls, we are inspiring, educating and training tomorrow’s leaders in practice, and research. In an ever-changing world and an ever-evolving field, we remain committed to graduating nimble oral health professionals who are capable of critical thinking, and adaptable to new technologies, changing demographics of disease, and emerging models of healthcare delivery. Across North Carolina, the United States, and the globe, our School of Dentistry graduates are translating research into professional, commercial, and societal uses; addressing big societal questions, impacting population health and prosperity; and positively impacting the economy.
To ensure that innovation is made fundamental at UNC Dentistry, our people have embraced an entrepreneurial mindset, exploring new ways of thinking, creating, and collaborating. New high-impact programs in telehealth, global health, and rural health, among many others, continue to advance our mission and maximize health. New School of Dentistry maker-spaces and incubator-spaces are encouraging both students and faculty to act as innovators as we commercialize products and processes, and translate discoveries into applications that improve education and not just oral health, but the overall health of our global society.
I have said many times that our School of Dentistry is a special place, with special programs and special people. I believe that more strongly each day as I see our school community work together to transform dentistry for better health.
Our story began in 1950. Our past defines a meteoric rise to prominence; our present is an opportunity we are seizing with vigor; and our future is one that we will craft for our school, our University and our profession – a future that moves beyond excellence.
