Parag Kachalia was still a dental student at University of the Pacific when he realized that after graduating he would like to be a part-time dental school faculty member. So after graduation, Dr. Kachalia ’01 followed through with his plan and joined the dental school as a one-day-per-week faculty member in addition to seeing patients in private practice. This was the start of his evolving career as a dental educator.
Scaffolding, fencing and construction crews in hard hats are the newest sights to see in San Francisco’s South of Market (SoMa) district as major renovations commence at 155 Fifth Street—the future home of the Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry.
For Dr. W. Ronald Redmond ’66 and his wife, Margaret, philanthropy is not a passive pursuit, but a passionate one. And the philanthropic endeavor second to none in their hearts is the Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry.
Competency and humanism: these sea changes in dental education both started at Pacific and have been nurtured here for more than 40 years. Today, they are standard operating requirements in every dental school in the United States.
Six Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry students spent a portion of their summer break participating in a student exchange pilot program with two Chinese dental schools.
New students experienced a rite of passage in early August—the first-year retreat—with a new twist. This year, in addition to the traditional team-building activities and inspirational lectures, the students participated in a variety of community service projects.
We’ve profiled four students from the Class of 2015, the first who will graduate from the new dental school downtown, to talk about what brought them here and what they were doing before they arrived. Here’s a peek at some of the interesting, unique and diverse students who exemplify this dynamic new class.
In my role as dean it can be easy to get absorbed by the myriad of school priorities and projects, but I make a point to remember that we wouldn’t be where we are today without one key ingredient—our people.