National Museum of Dentistry executive director announces retirement

    June 9, 2009
    Rosemary Fetter will retire at the end of the museum's fiscal year June 30, 2009.

    BALTIMORE, Maryland--Rosemary Fetter, executive director of the National Museum of Dentistry for the past 10 years, will retire at the end of the museum's fiscal year June 30, 2009.

    "We have benefited enormously from her commitment and passion for our museum," said Board of Visitors Chair Michael Sudzina. "Under her leadership, the National Museum of Dentistry has become the premier dental museum in the world."

    During Fetter's tenure, the National Museum of Dentistry became an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution and was designated by Congress as the official museum of the dental profession in the United States. She has enhanced the museum's activities, including the development of a traveling exhibition program and the MouthPower oral health education program that helps kids learn about good oral health on site, online, and across the country.

    She has engaged the dental community nationwide to help extend the museum's educational outreach across the country, complementing the permanent collection and special exhibitions in Baltimore.

    "I have been extraordinarily privileged to serve as the executive director of the National Museum of Dentistry for the last 10 years," said Fetter, who has been an active member the staff since the museum's inaugural year in 1996.

    "The museum has expanded its founding role as a tribute to the history of the dental profession to become a nationally recognized educational resource that is making an impact on people's awareness of the importance of good oral health across the country. I leave with a tremendous sense of pride and appreciation for the work of our friends, supporters and staff in helping to bring the Museum to this level of accomplishment."

    Fetter joined the museum staff as director of development during the museum's first year of operation in 1996. In 1998, she was promoted to director of development and administration. In 1999, she was named executive director.

    During her tenure, she established a Board of Visitors with national membership and further strengthened volunteer participation by creating a Corporate Advisory Committee, a National Allied Advisory Committee, and a National Advisory Committee with a dentist representative from each state.

    She established procedures to effectively manage museum operations, brought an interactive focus to exhibitions and programs that meet the museum's mission to raise awareness of the importance of good oral health to a healthy life, and created fund raising and donor relations strategies to bring financial support to the museum.

    During her career, Fetter has received recognition as a professional musician, educator and museum professional. In addition to performances across America and Europe, she served as the Director of the Cloisters Children's Museum of Baltimore.

    She has held academic positions at Appalachian State University and Randolph Macon Woman's College and was an arts administrator for the Mayor's Advisory Committee on Art and Culture in Baltimore. Fetter has 20 years of experience in higher education and museums.

    She is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music and holds a master's degree in fine arts from Tulane University and in management from the College of Notre Dame. She will be awarded with Honorary Fellowship in the American College of Dentists this fall, recognizing her contribution to dentistry and the dental profession.

    For more information, call (410) 706-0600 or visit National Museum of Dentistry.

    To read more about the National Museum of Dentistry, go to awareness and news.

    To comment on this topic, go to PennWell Dental Community site.