1976-1990

1949-19681969-1975 | 1976-1990 | 1991-2004 | 2005-Present

One of the first College of Dentistry graduates being congratulated by Dean Allen1976

March » Formal dedication of the Dental Science Building.

May » The college is granted full accreditation by the Commission on Dental Accreditation.

June » The first class of 18 students graduates from the College of Dentistry. All members of the Charter Class pass the Florida State Board examination.

July » Oral Surgery residency program is granted provisional approval and initiated.

Dr. George Garrington is named assistant dean for admissions and student financial aid.


Florida Congressman Don Fuqua having his teeth checked and chatting with Dean Allen and clinic director Dr. Ronald Dixon.1977

Mayo Dental Clinic is established in Mayo, Fla. as the college’s dental outreach program.

Advanced education programs in orthodontics, oral pathology, general practice and periodontics are established.

A new administrative position, Assistant Dean for Auxiliary Programs, is created; Dr. Lewis Leo is appointed.


1978

The Periodontal Disease Research Center (PDRC) is officially recognized by the Board of Regents as a center.

The first American Student Dental Association (ASDA) Student Day is held at the college.

Henry Silverman wins second place in the national table clinic competition.

Dr. William Shreve is named associate dean; Dr. Hector Bethart, assistant dean for advanced education.


Larry Brannon (right), winner of the national table clinic competition, receives his award from Bob Carman, president of UFCD ASDA 1979

Larry Brannon Wins first place in the national table clinic competition at the college’s second annual student clinic day.

Academy One Hundred donates initial funds for the Academy One Hundred Teaching Clinic.

Dedication of the Faculty Lounge, a facility in the college designed to foster interaction among professionals, which is made possible through generous gifts from Dr. Richard Chace, Dr. Richard Chace, Jr. and the Chace family.


Delegation from Tokyo Dental College1980

A sisterhood agreement is signed with the Tokyo Dental College for mutual development of educational and research programs.


1981

Craniofacial Center is established to bring together specialists from the colleges of dentistry, medicine and health related professions to care for patients with deformities of the face and skull.

For the first time, the entering class is at the maximum size.

Academy One Hundred approves an expanded student loan fund as the group’s major project for the next five years.

September » Under the leadership of Dr. Frank Collins, the Comprehensive Dentistry program is established by the college’s continuing education office. In this professional development program, practicing dentists attend one weekend a month for two years to complete a broad-based curriculum covering 13 major areas of dentistry.


1982

Academy One Hundred presents final payment on the donation which establishes the Academy One Hundred Clinic.

An Advanced Education program in Pediatric Dentistry is established.

The college celebrates its 10th anniversary.

October » Upon the resignation of Don Allen as dean, Dr. William Collett becomes acting dean.


Dean Donald L. Legler1983

February » Dr. A. Lewis Leo assumes the position of acting dean.

June » The first alumni reception is held at the Florida National Dental Congress and plans are announced to form a Dental Alumni Association.

Fall » Board of Regents approves establishment of the Bioglass Research Center run cooperatively by the colleges of dentistry, medicine and engineering. The Charter Board of Directors of the Dental Alumni Association is appointed and the first planning meeting is held.

October » Dr. Donald L. Legler is named dean.


Dr. Matthew Hall of the Dental Occlusion and Facial Pain Center confers with a patient.1984

The Dental Occlusion and Facial Pain Center is approved by the Board of Regents as the state’s first specialized treatment and research center to meet the needs of people suffering from dysfunction of the masticatory system and related pains of the head and neck.

April » In conjunction with the annual ASDA Student Clinic Day, the Dental Alumni Association holds the first Alumni Weekend for all UFCD graduates and members of the Academy One Hundred.

College of Dentistry alumni at Dental Fall WeekendSpring » The first human trials of dental applications for Bioglass begin.

June » Academy One Hundred commits to raising $600,000 in private gifts to fund an Eminent Scholar Chair in Clinical Dentistry at the college.


Residents at the College of Dentistry Jacksonville clinic1986

The PDRC receives a three-year grant for $1.5 million from National Institute of Dental Research (NIDR) to expand research into treatment and possible causes of periodontal diseases, the nation’s number one cause of tooth loss.

The College of Dentistry is one of 21 dental schools in the nation to receive a grant from the Pew Memorial Trust to conduct a two-year study and develop a strategic plan for renewal and change. The $90,000 in private funding allows the college to prepare to meet the challenges of population growth, changes in the makeup of the patient population, rising costs of higher education and health care, changing patterns of dental disease, and rapid technological advances.

July » The college’s first satellite dental clinic opens in the heart of Jacksonville, located on the campus of University Hospital (now University Medical Center).


The Florida Probe being used in education programs1987

The Florida Probe, an electronic periodontal probe that measures very subtle loss of supportive tissue around teeth, is developed.

The Southeast’s first doctoral program in oral biology is established at UF through the combined efforts of the colleges of dentistry and medicine.

The Oral Oncology Clinic is established as a center for diagnosis and treatment of oral cancer patients. A gift of $150,000 from the American Cancer Society-Florida Division provides initial support.


1988

The college is one of six dental schools in the nation to receive a grant as part of the second phase of the Pew National Dental Education Program. The three-year, $809,000 grant supports implementation of the strategic plan developed during the first phase of the Pew dental program.

The nation’s first federally-funded research center devoted exclusively to investigating and refining ways to maintain and promote the oral health of the rapidly growing elderly population is established. The new center receives $3.7 million from NIDR for research programs on the epidemiology of oral health problems of aging and patterns of disease and use of dental services. (In 1990, it is formally named the Claude Denson Pepper Center for Research on Oral Health in Aging to honor the memory of the Florida Congressman who was a national advocate for senior citizens.)

The PDRC receives a grant of $4 million over five years from NIDR to support three related clinical and microbiological periodontal disease. It is one of five centers funded in the U.S.

Fall »  The Academy One Hundred, the college’s largest donor group, completes the campaign to raise $600,000 to establish the first Eminent Scholar Chair in Clinical Dentistry. Dr. Parker Mahan is named to the chair.


1990

The College of Dentistry moves to the forefront in research programs to develop new dental materials with funding of the Specialized Materials Research Center through a grant of $2.5 million over five years from NIDR. With a grant of $900,000 from NIDR, the Department of Orthodontics launches a longitudinal study of the best time to begin treating class II malocclusion (buck teeth). These are the first federally funded orthodontic patient trials.