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From the McGoogan Health Sciences Library Special Collections and Archives
W. Clyde Davis, MD, DDS, was the primary owner and founder of the Lincoln Dental College (LDC) and dean when it opened in 1899. He was retained in that role when the Lincoln Dental College joined the University of Nebraska as the School of Dentistry in 1903 and upon its designation as the College of Dentistry in 1919. In 1919, Dr. Davis was also the chair of the Department of Operative and Clinical Dentistry.
A 1915 graduate of the Lincoln Dental College and a charter member of the Alpha Chapter of Omicron Kappa Upsilon, Bert L. Hooper, DDS, joined the University of Nebraska College of Dentistry in 1923 as instructor and chair of the Department of Prosthetics. He was made dean in 1939. In 1941, as part of the college’s response to the United States entering World War II, he implemented an accelerated program of study for the Dental College, from four years of study to three years, extended the academic year from nine to 12 months, and created a three-week dental internship program. In 1945, he assisted Earl Lampshire, DDS, in producing the first high-speed drill in Nebraska (operating at 9,000 rpms).
In 1954, Dean Hooper established a graduate program at a time when most dental schools were only teaching orthodontia at a fundamental level. By 1950, there were only about a dozen graduate orthodontic training programs in North America.
Graduate of the College of Dentistry in 1927, Ralph Ireland, DDS, MSc, practiced dentistry in Lincoln from 1929 to 1936. It was also 1936 when he first joined the college as an instructor and became chair of the Department of Pedodontics in 1939. In 1944, he received a Master of Science degree in Physiology and Pharmacology. He was the founding director of the graduate Departments of Pedodontics in 1947 and Orthodontics in 1954. He became dean of the College of Dentistry in 1959. Under his leadership, the Department of Dental Hygiene was formed in 1963 under its first director Betty Warner, and the College of Dentistry building was completed on the East Campus of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Among his many awards and honors, he was the second person in history to be honored by the American Association of Pediatric Dentistry in 1980.
From the McGoogan Health Sciences Library Special Collections and Archives
Henry Cherrick, DDS, MSD, joined the College of Dentistry as dean in 1981, having previously served as dean of the School of Dentistry at Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville from 1978-1981. While leading the college, Dr. Cherrick was also a consultant for the Veterans Administration Hospital in Lincoln.
Dr. Cherrick received an Associate of Arts degree from the University of Florida in 1961, a Doctorate of Dental Surgery from the Medical College of Virginia in 1965, and was certified in oral and maxillofacial surgery from the University of Cincinnati Medical Center in 1968. He also received a Masters of Science in Dentistry from Indiana University-Indianapolis in 1970. Dr. Cherrick left the College of Dentistry in 1988 to go to the University of California at Los Angeles School of Dentistry where he served as dean until his retirement in 1995.
A third-generation Nebraska dentist, Stephen Leeper, MA, DDS, received his degree from the College of Dentistry in 1959, where he graduated first in his class. He also received a Master of Arts degree in speech science from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Dr. Leeper joined the College of Dentistry faculty in 1964 and taught removable prosthodontics. Before being named interim dean in 1988, Dr. Leeper served as chair of the Department of Adult Restorative Dentistry and as assistant dean of clinics. He served as dean from 1988 to 2000. Some of his many accomplishments included the opening of the Cruzan Center for Dental Research, which allowed the college to increase its research activities, the reorganization of the college to six departments, and the initiation of the development of a patient-centered, comprehensive care model.
As a testament to the impact Dr. Leeper had on the field of dental education, the Supreme Chapter of Omicron Kappa Upsilon named a national teaching award after him. The Stephen H. Leeper Award for Teaching Excellence is given annually to a dental educator who has displayed exemplary standards in dental pedagogy while demonstrating vision and advancement in dental education. This award challenges educators to strive for excellence and innovation in dental education.
From the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Department of Strategic Communications
John Reinhardt, MA, MPH, DDS, earned a Bachelor’s in biology from Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Illnois, in 1971, and his Doctor of Dental Surgery from Loyola University in Chicago in 1975. He received a Masters in Operative Dentistry from the University of Iowa in 1979 and a Masters Public Health from Harvard University in 1988. He served on the University of Iowa dental faculty for 22 years before joining UNMC.
In 2002, Dr. Reinhardt received the Award of Excellence from the Academy of Operative Dentistry, and the prestigious American Dental Education Association/William J. Gies Foundation Education Fellowship in 2014. Under his leadership the college ranked among the top 20 dental schools in the U.S. for National Institute of Health support per faculty, the West Dental Hygiene program opened in Gering, and students entering the college had the highest GPA in the nation for nine of 13 years.
From the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Department of Strategic Communications
Janet Guthmiller, DDS, PhD, was the first woman to hold the office of dean in UNMC’s College of Dentistry. She earned her DDS from the University of Iowa College of Dentistry and her Periodontal Certificate and PhD in Cellular and Structural Biology from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio as a part of the NIH-sponsored Dentist-Scientist Program.
Before coming to UNMC, Dr. Guthmiller held the positions of associate dean of academic affairs and professor in the Department of Periodontology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Dentistry and was a faculty member at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry and the University of Iowa College of Dentistry. She is a nationally recognized leader in dental education and an accomplished researcher, author, and teacher. She has received multiple awards for outstanding achievement in leadership and education and has a passion for mentorship programs. Her special interests include genetic studies of periodontal bacteria and the expression and activity of innate antimicrobial peptides. She is the author of two books, seven book chapters, 45 journal articles and online educational modules, and 66 journal abstracts, and the recipient of multiple grants. Dr. Guthmiller is a Diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology and Fellow of the American College of Dentists and the International College of Dentists.
From the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Department of Strategic Communications
Rowen Zetterman, MD, served in the role of interim dean of the College of Dentistry after many years in leadership in various roles at UNMC. He has been an active supporter of the college and previously acted as a consultant during the college’s successful accreditation process through the Commission of Dental Accreditation.
Dr. Zetterman received his MD from UNMC in 1969 and completed an internal medicine residency and gastroenterology fellowship at UNMC and a hepatology and nutrition fellowship at the New Jersey College of Medicine at Newark.
He was a gastroenterologist for the United States Army at Walter Reed Army Medical Center before he returned to UNMC in 1976 as an assistant professor in the department of internal medicine. During his time at UNMC, Dr. Zetterman served in multiple leadership positions, including associate vice chancellor for strategic planning, associate vice chancellor of academic affairs and director of faculty mentorship programs. He also served as chief of gastroenterology and hepatology and vice chair of the department of internal medicine.
From the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Department of Strategic Communications
Gerard Kugel, DMD, PhD, comes to UNMC’s College of Dentistry with extensive expertise in clinical research and esthetic dentistry. He received his doctorate of dental medicine from Tufts University in 1985 and his PhD in Dental Materials in 2004 from the University of Siena, Italy. He also has a master’s degree in anatomy and cellular biology from Tufts, and an Executive Certificate in Management and Leadership from the Sloan School of Management at MIT.
Dr. Kugel previously served as associate dean for research and professor of comprehensive care at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine in Boston while also maintaining a private dental practice and has been involved in development of curriculum for a new dental school. Among his professional activities, Dr. Kugel serves as a reviewer for The New England Journal of Medicine, The Journal of Dental Materials, The Journal of Esthetic and Restorative Dentistry and The Journal of Cosmetic Dentistry. He also is a fellow in the Academy of General Dentistry and the Academy of Dental Materials. Dr. Kugel has published more than 200 articles and more than 300 abstracts in the field of restorative materials and techniques. He also has given more than 400 lectures both nationally and internationally.
