UTSD students choose 2012 Teaching Award winners

Three members of the University of Texas School of Dentistry faculty have been honored with teaching awards that are especially meaningful because the winners were chosen by UTSD students.   The winners for 2012 are:

-- John P. McGovern Award for Outstanding Clinical Teaching:  Professor Rodney F. Beetar, DDS, MS, of the Department of Prosthodontics, chosen by third- and fourth-year dental students. 

-- John Freeman Award for Outstanding Non Clinical Teaching:  Professor and Prosthodontics Department Chair Raymond G. Koeppen, DDS, MS, MBA, chosen by first- and second-year dental students.

-- Lorna Bruning Award for Excellence in Clinical Teaching:  Assistant Professor Joanna Allaire, RDH, BSDH, of the Department of Periodontics and Dental Hygiene, chosen by dental hygiene students.

Others who were nominated include Assistant Professor Stephen Laman, DDS; Associate Professor Joe Ontiveros, DDS; Associate Professor Asneiry Aponte, DDS, MSD; Assistant Professor Donald Roberts, DDS; Professor Donna Warren Morris, RDH, MEd; and Associate Professor Harold Henson, RDH, MEd.

McGovern Award Winner Rodney Beetar is a native of Colombia who graduated from Cartagena University, later earning a DDS from Creighton University and a master’s degree in prosthodontics from St. Louis University Dental School. He completed a residency in maxillofacial prosthodontics at UT MD Anderson Cancer Center. He joined the UTSD faculty in 1975 and currently teaches
five preclinical courses and junior and senior prosthodontic clinics.

This year, Beetar received multiple nominations, with almost all citing his passion for teaching and his habit of getting to school early and staying late. “Dr. Beetar is truly committed to teaching and his students,” one student wrote. “He is here every single morning to answer questions or help out in lab. Every student who leaves this school will have their education and training influenced by Dr. Beetar.”

Freeman Award winner Ray Koeppen earned his dental degree at State University of New York at Stony Brook, followed by a Master of Science in Prosthodontics at UT Dental School in San Antonio and a Master of Business Administration at Texas Woman’s University.  He joined the UTSD faculty in 2005.

Students praised him for his clinical knowledge, interest in education, patience and availability. “He is very patient and dedicated to his students,” wrote one student, while another said, “Dr. Koeppen embodies the true essence of a professional.”

Bruning Award winner Joanna Allaire was educated at UT School of Dentistry and will graduate in May with a master’s degree in dental hygiene from the University of Tennessee. She joined the UTSD faculty in 2007 and currently teaches periodontology. She is an instructor in preclinical and all clinical courses.

The students who nominated her described Allaire as knowledgeable, encouraging and always asking questions to make students think.

“Asking her questions about all things hygiene means having your query answered in a thought-provoking manner, with tons of helpful tidbits to make it more memorable,” one student wrote. “No matter how busy she is, Mrs. Allaire takes the time to acknowledge each student, and makes us feel as if we are to be trusted and not micromanaged. She is extremely knowledgeable yet never makes students or patients feel as if we are beneath her. Her encouragement in clinic is what helped me to progress.”