North Texas Dentistry Volume 7 Issue 4 NTD 2017 ISSUE 4 CONV DE | Page 7

Texas A&M College of Dentistry
T
Lacy’s efforts lauded
Dental school awarded $3.5M federal grant to advance student, faculty diversity
by Susan Mitchell Jackson
here are no lazy days of summer for
students participating in dental school
preparatory programs through Texas
A&M College of Dentistry’s Center of Ex-
cellence. And with 116 students in seven
different programs this summer, the cen-
ter’s staff and faculty hardly have time to
catch their breaths.
They all paused to celebrate in late June,
however, when the center’s director,
Dr. Ernie Lacy, was notified that the col-
lege would receive its second consecutive
nearly $3.5 million, five-year grant from
the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services’ Centers of Excellence program to
advance student and faculty diversity.
“There were major cheers all around and
then… back to work,” says Lacy, executive
director of the Office of Student Develop-
ment and program director for the grant.
“This funding is so timely, necessary and
greatly appreciated.
“Our programs are thriving, our students
are succeeding and there’s so much more
we want to accomplish. I am proud of
my staff and all of the faculty, other person-
nel and administrators – especially Dean
Wolinsky – and our community partners
who support and value our efforts to recruit
and retain minority dental students and
faculty, with the ultimate goal of increasing
access to quality, affordable oral health care
in our underserved communities.”
The College of Dentistry is making an im-
pact well beyond North Texas. It leads the
nation’s dental schools in student diversity,
and data shows that most of its graduates
who hailed from underserved communities
are providing dental care to those popula-
tions through their practices and commu-
nity service.
Just days before Lacy received the good
news regarding the grant, 14 recent college
graduates presented their final papers at
the dental school and wrapped up their
yearlong Post-Baccalaureate Program with
plans to matriculate as first-year dental
students at the College of Dentistry in the
fall. The week after the grant announce-
ment, 10 high school graduates who are
starting their undergraduate education at
various colleges this fall completed the
Summer Pre-Dental Enrichment Program
Collegiate I, which familiarizes the stu-
dents with the college environment and be-
gins their preparation for the Dental
Admissions Test.
There are more enrichment program
sessions slated at the dental school for high
schoolers this summer, and planning for
the fall pre-kindergarten through high
school programming is in full swing.
Operating under the auspices of the
college’s longtime Bridge to Dentistry,
these outreach and educational programs
leading to careers in dentistry represent
one component of the college’s Center
of Excellence.
Other COE core components include pro-
viding academic support for optimal stu-
dent performance for all students;
facilitating faculty recruitment and devel-
opment through master’s and certificate-
level education programs for health care
professionals; increasing access to litera-
ture and research related to underserved
and minority populations and health,
socioeconomic and cultural issues; and
providing opportunities for students to
provide care in community clinics with un-
derserved patient populations.
“None of what we do occurs by happen-
stance,” says Dr. Lawrence Wolinsky, dean
of the dental school. “We’ve made a con-
certed effort to recruit highly qualified stu-
dents and graduate outstanding dental
professionals. Developing and growing our
pipeline program has been a priority for
more than 20 years. I am proud of
Dr. Lacy and our college, and I am honored
by the recognition for what we’ve accom-
plished. Receiving this second highly com-
petitive grant essentially says ‘keep up the
good work.’”
Texas A&M College of Dentistry (formerly Baylor
College of Dentistry) in Dallas is a part of the Texas
A&M University and Texas A&M Health Science
Center. Founded in 1905, the College of Dentistry
is a nationally recognized center for oral health sci-
ences education, research, specialized patient care
and continuing dental education.
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