SIU School of Dental Medicine Honors 40th Class of Graduates
The Southern Illinois University School of Dental Medicine (SIU SDM) celebrated its 40th class of graduates at its commencement Saturday, June 6. Doctor of dental medicine degrees were bestowed upon 46 graduates during the hooding ceremony held in SIUE’s Morris University Center Meridian Ballroom.
“While higher education is promoted in today’s economy, an advanced professional degree is over and above the standard of achievement,” said SIUE Chancellor Julie Furst-Bowe. “I congratulate you on the hard work, persistence and dedication that have brought you to this point.”
SIU SDM Dean Dr. Bruce Rotter praised the class of 2015 for its notable academic achievement. The cohort achieved a 100 percent first time pass rate on the patient-based portion of their regional licensing exam. Twelve students graduated with honors.
“These graduates have distinguished themselves through their academic achievements, through the high quality and broad scope of dental care they’ve delivered to their patients, through their community outreach and service efforts, and through their research accomplishments and professionalism,” Rotter said.
Dr. Pamela Zarkowski, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs at the University of Detroit Mercy, was the featured speaker. She urged the graduates to consider three common dental instruments as they move through their professional lives: the mirror, the explorer and the probe.
Zarkowski encouraged the newly hooded dentists to use the mirror to reflect and retract, the explorer to look further into the changes within health care and the probe to ask questions.
“There’s going to be technology and science in your future,” she remarked. “It’s going to be used to access and diagnose patients. But I really think these three basic tools that don’t have bells and whistles, that aren’t connected to a computer, that aren’t in some cloud somewhere, will be very helpful to you.”
Seven SDM alumni participated in the hooding ceremony. The School allows an alumnus who is an immediate family member of a graduate to hood their family member as they walk across the stage.
The commencement ceremony can be viewed in its entirety online.
Photo: The SIU School of Dental Medicine Class of 2015.
Graduate Dr. Jennifer Worner is hooded by her father, Dr. Christopher Larsen, SIU SDM alum and current Alumni Association President.
