From the Dean

Are you hanging in there? We feel your pain. We had barely caught our breath from the pandemic-related issues of 2020 when new variants came along and presented a whole new set of challenges.

We hope you and your family have stayed safe and well during this tumultuous time. As we all pray for a prompt return to normalcy (or at least normal-lite), we encourage you to peruse the pages of this magazine for reassurance that our mission has continued unabated throughout the pandemic. Indeed, in many ways, we are functioning more nimbly and adeptly than ever before.

Look, for instance, at “A Heart for Service” (page 12), a synopsis of the many DCG organizations that enable our students to put their dreams of service into action in very timely and tangible ways. These organizations all have different missions, but the common thread is a deep and abiding commitment to serve the community, the state and society at large. Our students’ efforts are tireless, even or perhaps especially during the pandemic. The greater the need, the more our students, faculty and staff step up. We hope you are as impressed with their efforts as we are.

Progress is also continuing briskly in our laboratories. Read, for example, about the efforts of Dr. Franklin Tay and his colleagues (“Wide Open,” page 16) to apply advances in dentin and bone remineralization to a whole host of health issues. Their research is a shining example of how DCG scientists are improving overall wellness, making discoveries that will ideally lead to cutting-edge treatments for issues associated with disease, injury and aging.

Lots of great work is unfolding off campus as well. Read, for instance, about two of our stellar alumni — Drs. Ben W. Jernigan and Hardy Gray (pages 18 and 22, respectively) — who have devoted their careers to serving their communities and the dental profession as a whole. They are more than worthy of the DCG honors we recently bestowed on them.

We thank them, as well as all members of our DCG family, for their unparalleled dedication to the betterment of our communities, state, nation and world. 

We have so much to be thankful for and look forward to brighter days ahead.