UTDB eflash


August 13, 2007 \| Archive

Topics at a glance: Dean welcomes new students …Administrative changes at DB … Ground-breaking ceremony lottery… New communication specialist … DB faculty to be U.S. delegate to ISO meeting

Dean Flaitz welcomes new Dental Hygiene Students

Dental Branch Welcomes New Students

U.T. Dental Branch Dean Catherine Flaitz, D.D.S., addresses incoming dental hygiene students Aug. 8 at the beginning of orientation activities for the 40 new hygiene students and the 84 students entering the D.D.S. program. The hygiene students will complete a two-year program, while the D.D.S. students have four years of study ahead. Both groups of students participated in separate White Coat Ceremonies as their formal introduction to health care.

Dean Flaitz announces faculty changes at Dental Branch

Dean Catherine Flaitz, D.D.S., has announced the following administrative changes at the Dental Branch, effective immediately:

Jeryl English, D.D.S., who is also the chair of Orthodontics, will assume the post of interim chair for Pediatric Dentistry, replacing Fouad Salama, B.D.S., who has recently resigned. On behalf of the school, Dean Catherine Flaitz, D.D.S. expressed a note of gratitude to Salama for the contributions he made to the Dental Branch during the past year.
The new interim chair of Prosthodontics is Donald Belles, D.D.S., replacing Thomas Huff, D.D.S., who has served as chair since 1998. Dean Flaitz thanked Huff for his years of dedicated leadership and noted that he will continue to be a full-time faculty member in the department, with a focus on clinical teaching.
Peggy O’Neill, D.D.S., Ph.D., will be the new associate dean for patient care. She had been the interim associate dean for patient care.

Lottery for invitations to Aug. 30 ground-breaking ceremony

Twenty-five invitations to the ground-breaking ceremony will be offered via lottery to interested Dental Branch employees. The ground-breaking ceremony is planned for 10 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 30 at the UT Research Park where the new dental school will be built, near the southern border of the Texas Medical Center.

Please note the following:
1. Transportation WILL NOT be provided.
2. If you win the invitation, you must still have your supervisor’s permission to attend the ground-breaking ceremony.

Interested employees may submit their names by e-mail to Mary Sayles, executive assistant for the UTDB Development Office, mary.sayles@uth.tmc.edu. The drawing for the 25 invitations will be Friday, Aug. 24, in the UTDB Development Office, Room DBB-28A. For more information, contact Sayles at 713-500-4386.

Rhonda Moran is new DB communication specialist

Rhonda Moran, New communications specialist Rhonda Moran is the new Communication Specialist at the Dental Branch following the resignation of Erika Hargrove. Moran has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Stephen F. Austin State University and more than 15 years’ experience as a reporter, feature writer and editor for The Brazosport Facts, a daily newspaper in southern Brazoria County. She also has 10 years’ experience working in community relations for two hospital districts in Brazoria County.

Although new to the Dental Branch, Moran is at home in the Texas Medical Center, having earned a bachelor's degree in nursing from the UT School of Nursing in 2002 with the long-term goal of medical writing. She has clinical experience from The Methodist Hospital in Houston and at Sweeny Community Hospital, where she also handled community relations. As a registered nurse, she speaks both English and “clinical” (medical terminology) and is getting up-to-speed on dental terminology as quickly as possible.

Moran grew up in Angleton and has lived in southern Brazoria County most her life. She has a son and daughter still at home and a grown son living in San Antonio. The Morans and their two Welsh corgis will be moving from Lake Jackson to Kingwood later this month, so it’s a time of change for the whole family.

If you have ideas for stories, photos or just want to say hello, contact her at 713-500-4023 or e-mail Rhonda.Moran@uth.tmc.edu.

DB faculty to be U.S. delegate to ISO meeting in Germany

Rade D. Paravina, D.D.S., Ph.D., assistant professor of Restorative Dentistry and Biomaterials, will be a U.S. delegate at the meeting of the International Standardization Organization (ISO) for Technical Committee 106 (Dentistry) Oct. 14-20 in Berlin, Germany. The American Dental Association invited Dr. Paravina to join the delegation because of his expertise in the dental field. He is credentialed by the American National Standards Institute and will be the project leader for ISO 28642, Dentistry – Dental Shade Conformity and Shade Interconvertibility.