(Dallas)—Baylor College of Dentistry held one of the most significant events of its yearlong Centennial Celebration on Oct. 3: a convocation on the centennial anniversary of the date that BCD’s predecessor, State Dental College, opened its doors.
More than 400 faculty, staff, students, alumni, retirees and friends of the college gathered at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in downtown Dallas to honor the occasion.
BCD
Dean James S. Cole recognizes 91-year-old Lizzie Mae Gray,
a BCD
patient for 70 years.
One of the day’s most memorable events was the procession of 45 first-year dental students—the first class of BCD’s second century—representing the first 45 students who began classes in 1905. Each current student carried a banner with the name and state emblem of one of the first students. Remarks were given by James S. Cole, BCD dean; Nancy W. Dickey, HSC president and A&M System vice chancellor for health affairs; Robert McTeer, A&M System chancellor; Laura Miller, mayor of Dallas; and John D. White, chairman of the A&M System Board of Regents.
Representatives of the faculty, staff, alumni and student body all contributed to the success of this program as well as a variety of other events held throughout the year.
Their efforts have reflected the year’s theme: a legacy of service. The illustrious history of the dental school’s first 100 years has been shaped by people who served the college—through acts big and small—and perpetuated the college’s enduring quest for excellence.
The quest began when the college was founded by two St. Louis dentists, Dr. David E. Morrow and Dr. T.G. Bradford, who came to Dallas specifically to open a dental school. Classes for the first 45 students were held in rooms above a downtown Dallas grocery store where the Adolphus Hotel now stands.
In 1918, the school’s advisory board voted to merge State Dental College with Baylor University and rename the school Baylor University College of Dentistry. The merger was initiated to improve the quality of education offered by the school. The school flourished and struggled intermittently throughout its first century. A highlight at the halfway mark was the establishment of the Caruth School of Dental Hygiene—one of about 20 hygiene schools in the nation when it admitted its first class in 1955.
In 1971, the dental school separated from Baylor University so that it could accept state funding, which would help keep the school’s tuition competitive. The school was renamed Baylor College of Dentistry and became one of few stand alone dental schools in the nation.
Twenty years later BCD’s board of trustees began discussing the possibility of aligning with a major state university system. In 1995, the trustees voted to merge with The Texas A&M University System. The merger became effective in September 1996. The A&M System, in addition to helping BCD maintain long-term financial stability, offered the opportunity for collaboration among components. In 1999, the dental school became a founding member of The Texas A&M University System Health Science Center.
Today enrollment at BCD exceeds 500, and classes are held on a three-building campus three miles east of the college’s original site. More than 8,000 dentists and dental hygienists call the college their alma mater.
With this rich history, it was fitting that BCD celebrate its anniversary by honoring those who paved the way. Leading the 2005 Centennial Celebration are its steering committee co-chairs, two highly regarded BCD alumni: Dr. Robert V. Walker (BCD ’47) and Dr. Frank L. Higginbottom (BCD ’71). With their guidance, an 18-person steering committee and several industrious subcommittees planned and executed a year of celebratory events and activities.
The year began elegantly with a sold-out luncheon on Jan. 20 at the Mabel Peters Caruth Center in Dallas. The luncheon, held in honor of the Caruth School of Dental Hygiene’s 50th Anniversary, set the tone for the rest of BCD Centennial Celebration kick-off/Homecoming Weekend events, which were held Jan. 20-23 during the annual Southwest Dental Conference.
Nancy
W. Dickey, (center), HSC president and A&M System vice
chancellor
for health affairs, joins Clara Hoffman (left), Baylor Oral
Health
Foundation Board advisory director and Lizzie Mae Gray at
a centennial
celebration.
The weekend included a program and luncheon for BCD retirees and the annual Dr. Phillip Earle Williams Lectureship in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery as well as alumni reunion receptions. Dallas’ Fairmont Hotel assumed a festive air when nearly 1,000 guests attended the Celebration of the Century Gala, which filled the International Ballroom and overflowed into the Venetian room.
In July, BCD’s Graduate Periodontics Program celebrated its 50th anniversary and presented its annual Arthur Merritt Memorial Lectureship, attracting more than 250 national and international attendees.
Current and former patients were the honorees of the Centennial Celebration’s Patient Appreciation Week, Sept. 12-16, which was highlighted by the presentation of the college’s first Loyalty Awards. These awards recognized three people who have been patients of the dental school for the longest time. Local school-aged children joined in the festivities through participation in a coloring contest and an essay contest.
More than 700 BCD employees, students and retirees responded to an invitation to enjoy food and fun at BCD’s Centennial Birthday Picnic, Sept. 30, at the Baylor Tom Landry Fitness Center’s Landry Center Park.
The final Centennial Celebration events were the Brauman-Bell Alpha Omega Lectureship on Nov. 3, featuring Dr. Amid Ismail, a professor at the University of Michigan and an American Dental Association consultant on evidence-based dentistry, and dedication of BCD’s Texas Historical Marker by the Texas Historical Commission.