Record Group 18.1: Office
of the Dean, School of Dentistry, 1948-
Immediate Predecessor:
NA
Immediate Successor:
NA
Reporting Hierarchy:
1948-1955: School
of Dentistry, President
of UA
1955-1958: School
of Dentistry, Vice President
for Health Affairs, President of UA
1958-1962: School
of Dentistry, Vice
President for Health Affairs, Executive Director of University Affairs for the Medical Center, President of UA
1962-1966: School
of Dentistry, Vice
President for Health Affairs, President of UA
1966-1968: School
of Dentistry, Vice
President for Birmingham
Affairs, President of UA
1968-1969: School
of Dentistry, Vice
President for Health Affairs, Executive Vice President, President of UA
1969-1995: School
of Dentistry, Vice President
for Health Affairs, President of UAB
1995- : School of Dentistry,
Provost, President of UAB
Dean:
Joseph F.
Volker, 1948-1962
(Acting) Arthur
H. Wuehrmann, 1960-1961
Charles A.
McCallum, Jr., 1962-1978
Leonard H.
Robinson, 1978-1986
Richard R. Ranney, 1986-1989
(Acting) Victor Matukas, 1989-1990
Victor Matukas, 1990-1997
(Interim) Mary
Lynne Capilouto, 1997-1998
Mary Lynne
Capilouto, 1998-2003
Huw F. Thomas, 2004-
History: In
order to provide for the education and preparation of dentists in the State of Alabama, the Newton
Bill, Alabama Act 207, passed by the state legislature on June 27, 1945, created a dental school
as a program of The University of Alabama.
Before the creation of The University of Alabama School of Dentistry,
Alabamians who sought dental education were limited in their choice of programs
in the South. The Newton Act created the
dental education program and, in theory, located the School in Birmingham as part of the University’s newly
developing Medical
Center, where a new
four-year medical school had been located the previous year. No funds for the construction of necessary
facilities were appropriated by the legislature until 1946 and 1947.
In
1948, Dr. Joseph F. Volker was selected as first dean of the School of Dentistry. Already dean at Tufts College
Dental School,
Dr. Volker retained his position at Tufts throughout the academic year of
1948-1949 and organized the University of Alabama School of Dentistry in 48
days in the fall of 1948. Admissions
requirements were rigid, but on October 18, 1948, 52 freshmen, all U.S. veterans,
began their first day of class in designated facilities in the old Hillman Hospital building. The new school was closely affiliated with
the Medical College of Alabama, and from the beginning, importance was placed
on the basic sciences. In fact, the School of Dentistry and the Medical College of
Alabama operated joint departments of basic sciences. Created in close cooperation with the Council
on Dental Education, the school was immediately accredited when the four-year
program became operative. In addition,
the new dean and his staff sought to prepare every dental student for the National
Board Dental Examinations.
Very
soon after operations began, it was realized that new facilities were
definitely needed for the dental school and for the departments of basic
sciences. With the allocation of funds
from the Hill-Burton Act and from local sources, the Medical and Dental Basic
Science Building
and Dental Clinic was constructed and completed in 1951. In addition to these facilities, the dental
school, in cooperation with the Jefferson County Public Health Department,
operated two dental trailers that provided care to students in Jefferson County
public schools and a five-chair clinic at the Children's Hospital in
Birmingham. Other training programs
included specialized fields such as oral surgery, orthodontics, pedodontics, periodontics, and
oral medicine. The School of Dentistry
also pioneered in the Southeast refresher courses for dental practitioners.
The
excellence of the school earned it an international reputation and by the mid
1950s the school boasted students from around the world. Research also became a vital activity at the School of Dentistry, and the school received
monies from a number of public and private agencies. As its reputation increased, the school was
able to attract leading dental researchers.
From July 1960 until July 1961, Dean Volker took a leave-of-absence from
the school and worked in Arizona
on a study of the state medical school.
During his absence, Dr. Arthur Wuehrmann
served as acting dean of the School
of Dentistry.
The
School of Dentistry continued to grow and expand
under the leadership of Dean Charles A. McCallum, Jr., who succeeded Dr. Joseph
F. Volker in 1962. Under Dr. McCallum's
leadership, the School
of Dentistry grew during
the 1960s and 1970s and additional departments were added. During Dean McCallum's tenure, the School also
received funding for one of the first Institutes of Dental Research in the
nation. McCallum resigned the deanship
in 1977 to accept the vice presidency for Health Affairs. He would later follow in the footsteps of
former Dean Volker and serve as president of the University of Alabama
at Birmingham
from 1987 until 1993.
Dr.
Leonard H. Robinson became third dean of the University of Alabama School of
Dentistry in 1977 following McCallum’s resignation. Dean Robinson served until 1987 and was
succeeded Dr. Richard Ranney. Dean Ranney
proceeded to reorganize the school and reduce the number of independent
departments. His changes were prompted
by a $100,000 grant from the Pew National Dental Education Program to
reorganize dental education to reflect changes in dental education and
research. Of the School’s existing 14
academic departments, Dean Ranney eliminated all but
three. He then founded three new
departments to better reflect the changes in dental education. Dean Ranney served
until 1989 and was succeeded by Dr. Victor Matukas,
who served first as acting dean from November 16, 1989, and later as fifth dean from January 15, 1990.
After
the retirement of Dean Matukas, Dr. Mary Lynne
Capilouto, a long-time faculty member and UAB alumnae, was named interim dean
effective March 7, 1997. She became the School’s sixth dean on May 13, 1998. During Capilouto’s
tenure, the school was reorganized into nine academic departments,
Comprehensive Dentistry, Diagnostic Sciences, Endodontics
& Pulp Biology, Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, Oral Biology,
Orthodontics, Pediatric Dentistry, Periodontology,
and Prosthodontics & Biomaterials. Also during her tenure, the School of
Dentistry Building was renovated to provide state-of-the-art lecture and
patient treatment rooms and preclinical laboratories. A new front entrance was also constructed in
order to give the building – and the School – and more distinct appearance to
the public. Dr. Capilouto served as the
dean until the end of December 2003 and was succeeded by Dr. Huw Thomas. Thomas,
who came to UAB from the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in San Antonio, became the School of Dentistry’s seventh dean on January 1, 2004.
The
School’s first two deans, Joseph F. Volker and Charles A. McCallum, Jr., went
on to serve as vice president for Health Affairs and as president of UAB.
Copyright 1996-2008, The University of Alabama Board of Trustees.
Maintained and Last Updated by Tim L. Pennycuff, 27 May 2008.
For additional information on these
and other records, please contact the UAB Archives.
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