Department of Periodontology Holds Alumni Reception At Annual AAP Meeting
On Tuesday, November 17, 2015, the Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine (GSDM) Department of Periodontology hosted its annual Periodontal Alumni Reception at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center in Kissimmee, Florida. The reception is held every year during the American Academy of Periodontology (AAP) Annual Meeting. Approximately 50 alumni, corporate guests, residents, and faculty members attended the reception.
The 2015 AAP Annual Meeting took place from November 14-17 in Orlando, Florida. At the meeting, Periodontists from around the globe came together for presentations and other events geared toward professional development, education, and networking.
The 2015 Periodontal Alumni Reception took place on the last evening of the 2015 AAP Annual Meeting, Monday, November 17, at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center. GSDM alumni from as far away as the United Arab Emirates and Egypt were in attendance.
Dean Jeffrey W. Hutter kicked off the reception by welcoming the alumni and other guests present, while detailing some of the recent innovations taking place at GSDM.
“I am so very pleased and proud to see such an excellent turn out for this evening’s alumni reception held during the 2015 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Periodontology,” Dean Hutter told the attendees.
Dean Hutter then spoke about some of GSDM’s most recent successes, including the revamping of the GSDM curriculum to focus on a Group Practice, Patient-centered Model; the introduction of Seamless Digital Dentistry into both the pre-clinical and clinical education GSDM provides its pre-doctoral students and post-doctoral residents, and the oral healthcare GSDM provides its patients; and GSDM and Boston University Medical Campus (BUMC) being ranked 16 out of 138 United States Academic Institutions that received federal grant funding from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Facial Research of the National Institutes of Health in Fiscal Year 2014.
“Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine is and will continue taking the lead in all areas of basic, clinical, translational, behavioral and epidemiological research as we introduce new knowledge into overall healthcare,” Dean Hutter said. “Our challenge now is to keep the momentum going to continue attracting the best and brightest students, and the most accomplished and renowned faculty and staff.”
Dean Hutter also recognized the late Dr. Oreste (Russ) Zanni PERIO 76—former Clinical Associate Professor in, and Clinic Director of, the Department of Periodontology—for his generous bequest of $3 million, which will be used to establish an endowed full scholarship in Dr. Zanni’s name for a Resident enrolled in the Advanced Specialty Education Program in Periodontics and to also name the Post-doctoral Periodontic Patient Treatment Center in GSDM’s proposed new facility the “Dr. Oreste Zanni Post-doctoral Periodontic Patient Treatment Center.”
Before closing his remarks, Dean Hutter announced to the alumni, friends, and family in attendance, that GSDM has been ranked eighth in the United States and thirtieth in the world in the first ever Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings for Dentistry.
Dean Hutter then invited Chair and Professor of the Department of Periodontology, and Director of the Advanced Specialty Education Program in Periodontics Dr. Serge Dibart to speak to the attendees of the Alumni Reception.
Dr. Dibart opened his remarks with a summary of the Department of Periodontology’s recent activities: the development of a Doctor in Science in Dentistry program and Implantology fellowships; the hiring of faculty members Dr. Wanpeng Xu and Dr. Justin Cifuni; and the establishment of the new scholarship in honor of Dr. Zanni.
Dr. Dibart urged the alumni in attendance to return to GSDM. “I encourage all of our alumni to return to the Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine Department of Periodontology,” said Dr. Dibart. “The department would not be that same without the tireless support of our fantastic alumni network.”
Photos from the 2015 Periodontology’s Alumni Reception can be found on Facebook and Flickr.