A Message from the Dean
Dear friends,
Welcome to the 2019 edition of Salute, the official magazine of the UT Health San Antonio School of Dentistry. It has been over a year since the school has published an edition, and there is much that is new at the school, including myself as dean effective February 1 of this calendar year. Some of the latest advances at the school include a new curriculum for our Doctor of Dental Surgery program, renovated research laboratories, expansion of interprofessional educational experiences, greater opportunities for service-learning, digital dentistry initiatives, and streamlined clinical enterprise operations, just to name a few.
One area that has been most impressive to me, and in which no doubt the school is a national leader, is service to the community. For our school, community is not only San Antonio but the entire South Texas region. The school serves as one of the primary safety-net providers of dental care to populations of great need in our region. We also provide programs to encourage students from underserved communities in South Texas to consider careers in dentistry and dental hygiene, and we further support their success in dental school. I am certain you will enjoy reading about some of our community service programs featured in this edition of Salute, as well as the stories about the accomplishments of many of our researchers and clinicians.
It is truly a pleasure and an honor to serve as dean, to partner with our talented and dedicated faculty, outstanding staff, distinguished alumni, and the brightest students around. I look forward to the road ahead and traveling it with all of you, or should I say with y’all. As we end this year, we look forward to 2020, when the school will celebrate it 50th anniversary. There will be celebrations and events all year, so please join us.
Peter Michael Loomer, B.Sc., D.D.S., Ph.D., MRCD(C), FACD
Dean
School of Dentistry
