ATSU-ASDOH celebrates 2013 graduating class
Posted: June 10, 2013
A.T. Still University’s Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health (ATSU-ASDOH) 2013 graduating class filled the historic Orpheum Theatre downtown Phoenix on Friday, June 7. Friends, families, faculty, and staff were in attendance to cheer on the new graduates as they proudly accepted their degrees at the commencement ceremony.
Sixty-four members of ATSU-ASDOH’s seventh graduating class received their Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) degree, 23 of whom also received a Master in Public Health through ATSU’s School of Health Management.
An astounding 30 percent of the 2013 ATSU-ASDOH graduates have chosen to practice in a community healthcare setting, a primary goal of the school. Additionally, nine percent of the grads indicated their interest in dual areas, which include private practice and community health-based settings.
ATSU President Craig Phelps presented the honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree to keynote speaker, Claude Earl Fox, MD, MPH. Dr. Fox is a leading expert in public health and has headed federal, state and local agencies in a four-decade career. He also serves as Professor Emeritus in the Department of Epidemiology and Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami.
Dr. Fox addressed graduates about public health dentistry and how they will now be part of a solution to better oral health in the communities in which they will serve. “Leave here dedicated to making your success your community’s success,” said Dr. Fox. Additionally, he spoke about the evolution of healthcare in the United States and the benefits of broadening partnerships between dental providers and other public health professions.
ATSU-ASDOH Dean Jack Dillenberg also expressed his gratitude to the 2013 graduating class, “We are so very proud of you and what you have accomplished and what you will accomplish as you move forward. I salute your courage, commitment and dedication.”