gator dentist today - College of Dentistry - University of Florida

Standing Tall
Teresa Dolan implements her vision as new dean
of dentistry
By LINDY McCOLLUM-BROUNLEY
Don’t let her 5-foot stature fool you. College of Dentistry Dean Teresa A. Dolan, D.D.S.,
M.P.H., has a big personality and a broad vision for the college. She also has a knack for
finding the right answers to the important questions of life in academic and public service.
“One of my favorite faculty mentors during my fellowship with the Robert Wood
Johnson Foundation health services research program would write ‘So what?’ in big red
letters at the top of my research idea submissions,” Dolan laughed. “His point was, if you
can’t answer the ‘so what’ question, there’s no point in doing the research.”
Since joining the college in 1989 as an assistant professor, she’s demonstrated her
ability to answer the ‘so what’ questions to build collaboration through consensus. As dean,
Dolan will now have the chance to put those skills to the test as she works with different
constituencies to bring her vision for the college’s future into reality.
“I think the reality is that the state is not going to increase support for dental schools,
so we have to be entrepreneurial, creative, hardworking and productive,” said Dolan, who
envisions a five-year goal of fully implementing the college’s strategic plan to assure the
college stays on track to success. “We’ve already come a long way, especially in terms of
physical plant improvements,” she said.
Dolan believes expansion and renovation of physical plant will facilitate growth in
research and expand educational opportunities. More than $9 million has been spent over
the past seven years on classroom, clinic and laboratory renovations. But the college’s desire
to expand classrooms and student clinics for a larger Doctor of Dental Medicine (D.M.D.)
class and increase lab space to accommodate its burgeoning research enterprise is stymied
by space constraints.
As a professor and former associate dean for education, Dolan is dedicated to
continuing the college’s pursuit of excellence in education. In her role as the college’s
associate dean for education, Dolan helped enact curriculum revisions through a process
of self-examination and renewal for the college that, while at times painful, has greatly
improved the quality of UF’s D.M.D.
educational program.
Dolan is proud of the
continuing work of the college’s
curriculum committee to enhance
academic programs and curriculum
to achieve a sustained level of
national excellence. She points to the
high caliber of the college’s entering
and graduating students as valid
indicators of progress.
The college is ranked No. 8 of
50 dental schools for the performance
of its students on the National Dental
Board Part I, and every member of
the class of 2003 passed the NB Part II
exam this spring.
This year 82 students were
selected from 650 applications for
admission into the college’s D.M.D.
program. They are among the top
Florida Secretary of Health, Dr. John Agwunobi (at left) and
Dean Dolan at the state’s capital in April. (Photo - Ray Carson)
4 Gator Dentist Today Fall/Winter 2003
predental students in the nation, and
admissions increasingly reflect the
Photo - Daniela Aguilera
“.... my grandfathers
had oral cancer, and
that made a big impact
on me. It really placed
dentistry in the forefront
of why oral health is so
important,” Dolan said.