Perng-Ru Liu, DMD, DDS, MS has been named the 2022 H. Moren Fuller Award recipient by the University of Alabama School of Dentistry Alumni Association at UAB.
Liu’s wife, Lynne, and son, Kenneth, received the award in memorial on July 14, 2023, at a special alumni reception held during the Gulf Coast Dental Conference in Destin, Fla. The Fuller Award is the highest honor in Alabama dentistry and is bestowed by the Alumni Association in recognition of outstanding contributions to the dental profession.
Dr. Liu provided leadership in prosthodontics and comprehensive dentistry at the UAB School of Dentistry for more than thirty years. At the time of his passing in November of 2022, he was serving as Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs. Liu was the founding chair of the Department of Comprehensive Dentistry (2000-09). He also chaired the Department of Prosthodontics (2009-12) and the Department of Restorative Sciences (2012-19). In 2014, Liu was named the inaugural holder of the Thomas P. Hinman Meeting Endowed Professorship. Liu received his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from Chung-Shan Medical University in Taiwan in 1985. He joined UAB as a clinical instructor in 1990, then received his Master’s in Dental Materials at UAB in 1992 and his Doctor of Dental Medicine degree in 1999.
The moments leading up to, during, and after the presentation were emotionally charged. In presenting the Fuller Award, Alumni Association President-Elect Dr. Parrish King ('07) said, "Dr. Liu embodied service to the dental school, which is the primary focus of the Fuller Award, particularly relating to how Dr. Moren Fuller set the initial standard for the award. Dr. Liu was student-oriented in everything he did, from instruction to leadership to financial giving. We miss him in many ways and this award is just a small way to honor his legacy."
Accepting the award on behalf of his mom and brother Stephen (’17) was Dr. Kenneth Liu (’18 and ’21).
"For my father to receive this year's Fuller Award is a tremendous honor. My father would have been so deeply moved to be recognized in front of his friends and colleagues for his hard work and dedication to the field of dentistry and to UAB,” said Liu. “The Fuller Award is the perfect capstone for his career. Upon hearing Dr. Parrish King's beautiful tribute detailing my father's dental career followed by the announcement of my father's name, my family felt a wave of emotions. It was a catharsis that my family needed ever since my father's passing, and it gave us some closure."
The Fuller Award is named for Dr. Moren H. Fuller, of Centerville, Alabama, one of the first members of the School of Dentistry advisory board. Fuller was not well known by his Alabama colleagues but was highly respected by his community, which earned him his spot on the board. He spent a lot of time at the school during its early years. Many of the first students were World War II veterans with impeccable credentials to enter dental school, but could not find a spot in out-of-state universities. Because of his day-to-day involvement with the school from the beginning, the students saw Fuller as their personal benefactor and the Dental Alumni Association chose to honor Fuller and to make the award his namesake. In 1955, Fuller was the first recipient of the award.