Photo caption: From left to right, MCG President Daniel W. Rahn; School of Dentistry Dean Connie Drisko; Dr. Thomas Callahan, chair of the Hinman Dental Society's Board of Trustees, and Dr. Charles T. Ruhl, a member of the Hinman board.
A donation from the Thomas P. Hinman Dental Society will fund an endowed chair in general dentistry at the Medical College of Georgia (MCG) School of Dentistry in Augusta, Ga.
Dr. Thomas Callahan, chair of the society's Board of Trustees, and Dr. Charles T. Ruhl, a member of the board, recently visited the campus to present the first installment of the $500,000 endowment.
"Our goal is to bring the most qualified person in the country to the Medical College of Georgia's School of Dentistry to become the holder of the Hinman Chair of General Dentistry. This complements our overall mandate to improve dental education and the quality of dental care," said Dr. Callahan. "Endowing this chair is the first time we've been able to provide a gift of this magnitude; and it is an honor to do so at the Medical College of Georgia, because they are doing such an outstanding job of educating future dentists."
"This gesture of incredible generosity is yet another demonstration of the Hinman Society's commitment to our school and to the betterment of dental education as a whole," said MCG School of Dentistry Dean Connie Drisko. "The society has contributed $272,000 to our school since its first gift in 1988, and it is a privilege to be a good steward of such unwavering support."
The late Dr. Thomas P. Hinman, an Atlanta dentist, founded the society in the early 1900s. The Hinman Dental Society sponsors one of the largest dental meetings in the nation (the Thomas P. Hinman Dental Meeting) and emphasizes the importance of continuing education. Last fall, the society funded the Thomas P. Hinman/MCG School of Dentistry Fellowship to bring world-renowned dentists onto campus to share their expertise with MCG faculty and students.
"It would be impossible to quantify the effects of the Hinman Society's generosity on our dental school," said Dr. Drisko. "The bottom line is that every single Georgian receives better dental care because of the society's initiatives, and we are proud to partner with them in their efforts for ongoing progress."
