Welcome to the School of Dental Medicine at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. We are excited about our new concept in dental education, where service and leadership are paramount. As you will see in our Vision, Mission and Values' statements, we are focused on helping improve access to services designed to achieve and maintain oral health, a critical factor in one’s complete health. Our primary targets for these services are the citizens of North Carolina whom have generously underwritten the establishment of our young school.
Our approach to improving access to dental services is multi-faceted. We are recruiting North Carolinians to our school program leading to a Doctor of Dental Medicine degree (DMD) who have exhibited a passion for serving less fortunate members of our society. We plan to build upon that passion to create dental leaders who will see service to society as a key responsibility of a dental professional. Such professionals also require excellent education and training, since many of those with limited access to health care more commonly have complex medical needs in addition to their severe oral health problems. Furthermore, preparing trainees to successfully provide improved access to care to rural and other underserved populations demands that they have experience managing such patients during dental training. This is difficult in many dental schools due to their location in relatively well served communities. Our School of Dental Medicine will overcome this limitation by building and operating clinical facilities (Community Service Learning Centers) in rural underserved communities and regions throughout North Carolina. Our strategy also includes student recruiting in underserved communities to find individuals who would make excellent dentists and return to their home community after they complete their education.
We are bringing together a truly outstanding group of experienced dental educators from around the country to be our initial fulltime school faculty. This cohesive team is dedicated to accomplishing our mission and is having a wonderful time in the process. Our innovative curricular design and extensive use of the latest technology to enhance education and clinical care are other reasons our recruitment efforts have been so successful in spite of national shortages of dental faculty. We are joined by equally wonderful and skilled staff members who also thrive in our fresh climate where everyone plays an important role in guiding how important things will be managed in our new school.
We have a handsome and fantastically designed building under construction that will be done in the spring of 2012. Local orthodontist and businessperson, Dr. Ledyard E. Ross, donated $4 million to help us attract the best faculty and students. In recognition of his generosity, the new building has been named Ledyard E. Ross Hall. It will be state-of-the-art in every way, including advanced educational technology, the latest in dental equipment, and using new concepts in research space design.
I hope you enjoy exploring our website. I also encourage you to visit our Facebook page where the latest news and blogs are posted. If you are a prospective student, faculty or staff member, patient, or donor and you do not find the information you need on our website, please contact us directly to get the answers you seek. We are here to serve!
