White Coat Ceremony Welcomes 100 New Dental Students to IU
Less than one month after embarking on their education in dentistry at Indiana University, young men and women from 16 states and four nations gathered in Indianapolis to take the professional oath of Dentistry and to receive a white coat that will serve as a symbol of professionalism for them throughout their careers in healthcare.
The IU School of Dentistry White Coat Ceremony was held for the 100 members of the Doctor of Dental Surgery Class of 2014 before a capacity audience of the students’ family and friends at University Place Conference Center on Aug. 7. The students began their first semester in the four-year program on July 12.
Dr. John N. Williams, dean of the IU School of Dentistry, opened the White Coat Ceremony by welcoming the students and congratulating them on their acceptance into IU’s dental degree program. “You will carry the tenets of professionalism with you throughout your education and your careers,” he said.
An overall commitment to excellence, a devotion to quality care, and putting others above self are examples of these tenets, said Dean Williams. Dedication to one’s patients, he added, means providing treatment to them “as if you were treating a loved one.”
The IU School of Dentistry established the White Coat Ceremony in 2001 as a means of underscoring the importance of ethics and professionalism in dentistry for incoming students at the outset of their dental studies. The jacket-length coats have the school’s name embroidered in red thread above the breast pocket.
Dean John Williams
For the 2010 ceremony Dean Williams introduced keynote speaker Richard E. Jones (DDS’75, M’78 Prosthodontics), chair of the Indiana Section of the American College of Dentists and a noted ethicist in the Hoosier state’s dental community. He practiced in Munster, Ind., for 30 years, until 2008, and he has chaired the Indiana Dental Association’s Council on Peer Review for more than two decades.
Describing himself as “wealthy in every important sense of the word,” Dr. Jones spoke of his wonderful family life, his special friendships with peers and former patients, and a rewarding, multifaceted profession that has made it possible for him to help thousands of people, to gain respect as a leader in his community, and to earn an outstanding living.
In his address to the students Dr. Jones said success lies in finding one’s ethical center, or core identity; using one’s personal core values for every decision in life; and maintaining mental, physical, and spiritual balance in life.
“Adhere to our professional ethics for the benefit of all,” Dr. Jones said. “Use your personal core values to answer all the questions in your life. Write your goals now and follow them. You can preplan your life for intentional success. You will achieve success beyond your dreams, but not by accident; it will be on purpose.”
Dr. Richard Jones
Dr. Jones congratulated the students for selecting a career path in dentistry, a profession he called “a sacred trust and a great gift.”
Each member of the DDS Class of 2014 was then called to the stage to be coated. Assisting Dean Williams and Dr. Jones in the ceremony were Dr. Steven E. Dixon, representing the IU School of Dentistry faculty; Dr. Matthew C. Moeller, president of Theta Theta Chapter of Omicron Kappa Upsilon national dental honor society; and Dr. Martin R. Szakaly, president of the Indiana Dental Association.
The new class, which was drawn from an international applicant pool of 1,667 persons, is composed of 70 Indiana residents and 30 nonresidents. The nonresidents are from Kenya (1 ), South Korea (1), and Canada (5) as well as California (2), Illinois (4), North Carolina (2), Texas (2), Utah (3), and one student each from Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Idaho, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.
The average age is 24 years old for this class of 56 men and 44 women. A total of 61 of the new students completed their undergraduate work at Indiana colleges and universities, including 26 who studied at one of IU’s eight campuses. Twenty of the students hold a master’s degree in addition to their baccalaureate training.
Academic averages for the Class of 2014 are 3.60 grade point average for overall studies (scale of 4.0) and 3.55 grade point average in science.
Although the majority of the incoming class pursued traditional predental majors of biology (55) or chemistry (13), other college majors reflect a class with wide-ranging interests such as computer engineering, environmental studies, film/cinema, finance, graphic design, and Spanish.
Class of 2014 member Doris Lin and Dean Williams
Indiana University School of Dentistry
Doctor of Dental Surgery Class of 2014
| Hani Ahdab Saba Ahmed Dalia Al-Azzawi Austin N. Baker Kelly M. Barry Scott M. Bassett Jeffrey M. Batesole Nicole M. Beeler Sonia M. Bennett Marc A. Blackburn Emilia J. Blaser Megan R. Booe Bryan D. Braasch Brenda Bui Bryan D. Burrows Gregory M. Butler Nicholas J. Catton Hah Neul Choi Christopher Coffey Nathan A. Corn Danielle M. Cory Jeffrey D. Croarkin Brittany E. Curnutt Kayla M. Dawson Tatiana de Bedout John R. Emhardt Kenneth A. Engle Bradley J. Farley Brett R. Finkelmeier Garrett A. Fiorenza Haley L. Frame Shaun J. Freeman Maya A. Gendlin |
Alysha R. Gliszczynski Brittany M. Green Shane L. Harmon Bryce S. Haslam David H. Heath Daniel M. Henricksen Trevor D. Hess Jillian J. Hodge Jason D. Hua Jordon C. Jacobs Thomas G. Jahnke Isaiah I. Jernberg Gabrielle M. Johnson Steven W. Kellett Abdul Khan Sara M. Khan Nabeel A. Kheiri Brian P. Kramer Theodore J. Kula Melinda S. Landwerlen Whitney K. Laverty Samuel M. Leggitt Jennifer M. Leist Doris J. Lin Tara N. Lueders Nicole J. Manigault Allison K. Marlow Nathan S. Martin Rick A. McAdams Lucy J. McCommas Michael A. Merkley Robert I. Miskimen William G. Moll |
Cassandra N. Myer Jennifer A. Neese Thuy T. Nguyen Stella W. Njenga Jenna R. Oberley Se Hun Oh Varsha Padmanabhan Neal H. Patel Kyle W. Ragsdale Patricia R. Ramsay Tyler J. Richey Brian T. Rochford Julia C. Sadove Chelsea L. Schafer David L. Severe Pragya Sharma Mohammad Spouh Daniel J. Stackowicz Austin C. Starr Stephanie R. Steele Charlene M. Steiner Faye C. Stokes Louis M. Stumpf Jeffrey A. Taylor Kyle J. Thompson Jeffrey D. Tjan Candice R. Toloday Alex C. Troxel Mitchell L. Troyer Thuy L. Vazquez John J. Wadas, IV Shuo Wang Jerry L. Westover David C. Wood |
August 10, 2010
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