Dental School Welcomes Alumni Back to Boston
Boston University Alumni Weekend 2010 was held Friday, October 29 to Sunday, October 31 and featured a wide range of events for graduates of the Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine (GSDM). Friday kicked off with the first day of the Gianelly/Schilder Symposium on Orthodontic and Endodontic Excellence and later the School’s Alumni Weekend Reception.
During the reception the Special Dean’s Awards and Alumni Awards were presented. This year’s recipients of the Special Dean’s Award were Dr. Celeste Kong, Dr. John Guarente, Mr. Timothy McDonough, and Dr. Ronni Schnell. Drs. Kong and Guarente were presented with the Special Dean’s Award for their work as Co-Chairs of the Applied Strategic Planning Committee.
Dean Jeffrey W. Hutter explained, "The Applied Strategic Planning process has been one of the most important and critical initiatives we have undertaken as a School to date. The process has been extremely time and labor intensive and knowing that this would be the case at the outset I appointed two of my most trusted and respected faculty members as co-chairs." He continued, "I would like to present these two individuals with a Special Dean’s Award in recognition of their efforts and their success in leading this committee and our School that much closer to a future of greatness."
McDonough and Dr. Schnell received Special Dean’s Awards for their work converting the School to the "paperless" electronic dental record. The School began the conversion process in 2005 and went live with electronic dental records in September.
"An incredible amount of effort has been involved in this conversion process," said Dean Hutter. "This initiative has brought our School and our Patient Treatment Centers to a new level of excellence that separates us from our peers. We have owed this to our students, our patients, our faculty and staff, and our alumni for some time now and I could not be more pleased with this implementation. I also could not be more pleased with the leaders of this project, Tim McDonough and Dr. Ronni Schnell. They are two of the most committed and capable project leaders I could have ever asked for."
Dean Hutter also presented an Alumni Award during the reception to Paula Friedman MSD 88, MPH 00 for "Outstanding Service to the School, the Profession, and the Community." Dean Hutter added, "For thirty-two years Paula, currently our Associate Dean of Strategic Initiatives, has worked tirelessly on behalf of our School as a faculty member, an administrator, a mentor, and a member of countless committees and task forces, and I can honestly say that the impact that she has had has helped to shape the very nature of this institution."
Two other Alumni Awards were presented during the Reception for "Outstanding Service to the Profession." The recipients were Raymond George, Sr. ORTHO 66 and Fahad Al-Harbi PROS 00, MSD 01, and DScD 05. Chair & Anthony A. Gianelly Professor in Orthodontics & Dentofacial Orthopedics and Director of the Advanced Specialty Education Program in Orthodontics & Dentofacial Orthopedics Dr. Leslie Will presented Dr. George with his award, detailing his accomplishments in the field of orthodontics. Dr. George practices with his son, Dr. Raymond George, Jr., at their three George Family Orthodontics practices, located in South Attleboro, Seekonk, and Vineyard Haven. He is also a Diplomate of the American Board of Orthodontics.
Professor & Chair of Restorative Science/Biomaterials Dr. Dan Nathanson presented Dr. Al-Harbi with his award. Dr. Al-Harbi is an Assistant Professor at Boston University Institute for Dental Research and Education (BUIDRE) Dubai and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Restorative Sciences/Biomaterials at GSDM. In November 2009, he was appointed Dean of the College of Dentistry at King Faisal University, located in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. Dr. Al-Harbi is the first dentist to hold this position since the establishment of the College in 2003. All previous deans have been physicians.
Also during Alumni Weekend, the DMD class of 1990 celebrated their 20-year reunion. Members of the class returned to GSDM from as far away as California and Florida to reconnect with their classmates. In addition to other scheduled Alumni Weekend events, many members of the class took a tour of the School on Friday and gathered at Rustic Kitchen for a reunion dinner on Saturday night, organized by Shadi Daher DMD 90, OMFS 94.
"It was wonderful to see so many of my classmates at the reunion," said Dr. Daher. "For many of us the last time we saw each other was at the five year reunion so it had been several years. Everyone was recalling fond memories of their time at the Dental School, and many were impressed by the improvements that have been made at the School since we were students."
Also on Saturday, a Dean’s Recognition Dinner and Wine Tasting was held at the Trustee’s Ballroom. The dinner honored major annual fund donors from GSDM and the Boston University School of Medicine.
"I thought Alumni Weekend went really well and I was pleased to see so many Dental School alumni return to Boston for the weekend," said Alumni Board President Tina Valades DMD 84. "I’d also like to recognize those DMD classes that celebrated their reunions and congratulate this year’s award winners."
Photos from Alumni Weekend can be found in the following locations:
Flickr
Alumni Weekend Reception
DMD 90 Reunion
Dean’s Recognition Dinner & Wine Tasting
Facebook
Alumni Weekend Reception
DMD 90 Reunion