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The Faculty of Dentistry's Outstanding Alumni Award is presented to dentistry and dental hygiene graduates who have made distinctive contributions to his or her community, profession, society at large or to the Faculty of Dentistry. Nominations for the 2014 Outstanding Alumni Awards are due by June 1. We asked alumni officer Jon Bruhm to tell us a bit more about this distinction.

Question 1: What's so special about the Outstanding Alumni Award?

The Outstanding Alumni Award is an opportunity for the Dentistry Alumni Committee to give a ‘thumbs up’ to some of its members who have truly made a difference in the world. As one of last year’s recipients Dr. Wayne Maillet put it, “to be selected by your peers and by your school is the ultimate professional recognition.”

It's also an exclusive club with only 66 alumni being recognized in this way, 53 from dentistry and 13 from dental hygiene. This means that less than two per cent of our total alumni have received this award.

Question 2: Who is eligible for this award?

Anyone who has a degree from Dalhousie's Faculty of Dentistry hanging on their wall and hasn't yet received the honour can be nominated. We look for candidates who stand out as key contributors to the advancement of oral health through service, leadership, education, innovation and volunteerism.

Nominations can be submitted by any individual, group or professional organization, whether they are Dalhousie Dentistry alumni or not.

Question 3: Why did the nomination protocol change?

In previous years, the Dentistry Alumni Committee received some nomination packages that consisted of lengthy resumes and multiple letters of support. Others received included only a brief outline of career highlights. This made it very difficult to properly assess the candidates. Our new nomination format means that the selection committee will have a more balanced basis on which to determine the successful candidates.

Question 4: Who makes the decisions?

The selection committee is comprised of the vice-chair of the Dentistry Alumni Committee and two appointed representatives from the alumni body. Their selections will be presented to the Dentistry Alumni Committee for approval and successful candidates will be notified over the summer. The award, or awards will be presented at the Dentistry Alumni Dinner on Saturday, October 18 during Dalhousie Homecoming 2014.

Question 5: How can people find out more about the Outstanding Alumni Award?

All of the details, including the nomination package and the list of previous recipients, can be found on our website.

I’d also be happy to answer any questions via email or over the phone 902-494-2431.