UCSF dental school receives $10M donation

San Francisco — The University of California San Francisco School of Dentistry announced Jan. 30 it received a $10 million gift — the largest contribution ever to the dental school — to establish an endowment that would fund efforts to modernize its curriculum and recruit and retain faculty members.
   
The anonymous donation from an alumnus will also help develop professional and mentorship programs for junior faculty, according to a news release.
   
“This gift will enable us to prepare the school for a new era in dental health and medicine and support our vision for many years to come,” said Dr. Michael Reddy, UCSF dental school dean.
   
During the next 20 years, oral health is expected to become fully integrated into general health care, with the greatest growth in pediatrics, geriatrics and oncology, Dr. Reddy said, adding that patient care will emphasize prevention and oral self-care, rather than dental treatment and repair.
   
According to UCSF, Dr. Reddy’s goal is to educate dental students and residents in patient-centered delivery settings such as health clinics and hospitals, in which faculty members practice in teams with students, trainees and other health professionals.
   
For junior faculty, the school plans to develop a formal mentorship and coaching program, which can expose young educators to a wide variety of relevant skill sets and nurture an individual’s potential.
   
“The way dental care is delivered and practiced in the future will demand a different type of provider and new approaches to dental education,” Dr. Reddy said in a news release. “This gift significantly enhances our ability to educate the future leaders in dentistry, not just for the next generation but also for many generations to come.