Scholarships Honor SDM Leaders
Sloane steps down, Muller steps in, as board of visitors chair
After 17 years, Marshall Sloane (SMG’49) has stepped down as chair of the board of visitors of the Goldman School of Dental Medicine, but thanks to a new professional development scholarship, he will continue to have an impact on the school’s faculty and staff. The Marshall M. Sloane Leadership Development Fund, to be awarded annually to fund professional development and leadership activities at SDM, was established at the annual board of visitors meeting early this semester.
“Marshall Sloane’s service to this board has been an extraordinary gift of time, effort, and passion for the future of oral health and education,” says Jeffrey Hutter, SDM dean ad interim. Sloane was a founding member of the board in 1980 and became its chair in 1990; he will remain a board member and also will retain his position as a member of Boston University’s Board of Trustees.
At the meeting, Hutter announced the appointment of Ernesto Muller (SDM’61), head of the department of periodontics at Centro de Especialidades Odontológicas, in Caracas, as the new chair.
Muller, who earned a certificate of advanced periodontology from SDM, was awarded the Medal of Honor from the Venezuelan National Guard and the Silver Cross from the Ministry of Health in Venezuela. Hutter says that the school plans to continue growing with Muller as head of the board.
The annual meeting also addressed the strategic long-term goals presented last year — to expand international partnerships in education, research, and health care. “These partnerships are outstanding projects that have such practical meaning to all of us who take an active interest in oral health and dental education globally,” says Sloane, who discussed the school’s international partnerships in China, Thailand, India, Kuwait, Lebanon, and Dubai.
Sloane also announced the establishment of the Dean Spencer N. Frankl Scholarship, honoring Frankl, the longest-serving dean of any dental school in the country, who passed away on October 20. The school recently ended a $2 million campaign, launched in 2002, to establish the Spencer N. Frankl Chair in Dental Medicine to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the school and Frankl’s 25 years as dean. The chair was fully endowed this year. The school intends to raise $1 million for the new scholarship.
“Dean Frankl was always willing to face new challenges and embrace change,” says Sloane. “The result is that BUGSDM is ranked among the top dental schools in the nation and in the world.”
Kimberly Cornuelle can be reached at kcornuel@bu.edu.