Penn's School of Dental Medicine received a $5 million gift to create the Center for Integrative Global Oral Health, which will develop curricula for DMD and Master’s-level training in oral disease prevention and work to integrate oral health as a part of overall health by introducing a Penn Dental Medicine Master of Public Oral Health degree.
Credit: Maria MuradPenn's School of Dental Medicine has received a $5 million gift to create the Center for Integrative Global Oral Health and an endowed professorship to lead it.
The Center will develop curricula for DMD and Master’s-level training in oral disease prevention, Penn Dental Medicine reported. The Center will also work to integrate oral health as a part of overall health by introducing a Penn Dental Medicine Master of Public Oral Health degree.
The donation came from 1977 Dental School graduate Garry Rayant and his wife, Kathy Fields. Rayant serves on the Board of Advisors to Penn Dental Medicine and the Board of Advisors of the University of Pennsylvania Advanced Judaic Studies Program, Penn Dental Medicine reported.
The new center will also conduct research on oral health policies at the global, national, and local levels, and facilitate conversations among educators and policymakers on health policy and health systems.
“The Center will evaluate the interaction between oral health and general health throughout the lifespan and consider advances in science, health care integration, and social influences to articulate promising new directions for improving oral health and oral health equity across communities,” Rayant told Penn Dental Medicine.
The gift will also create the Fields-Rayant endowed professorship within the Center, whose recipient will work with faculty to develop curricula to integrate oral health into broader conversations surrounding health and healthcare, Penn Dental Medicine reported.
Penn Dental Medicine plans to launch a multi-year fundraising campaign to match the $5 million gift to secure a lasting endowment for the Center.
The School of Dental Medicine, in collaboration with the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, also launched the Center for Innovation and Precision Dentistry on Jan. 22. Earlier this year, the Dental School announced a $50,000 alumnus donation that will be used to create an LGBTQ+ fund at the institution.
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