News

Acting dean, Dr. Ben Davis

Dear students, faculty, and staff
 
It gives me great pleasure to welcome you back to the Faculty of Dentistry and to extend a warm welcome to the new students joining the Faculty this year, including our Qualifying Program students who joined in April and our recently arrived students from the International Medical University of Malaysia.  You are all part of a collegial and caring community at the Faculty of Dentistry.
 
Over the summer, I was appointed acting dean until July 2018, or until a new permanent dean is appointed. This is a great honour for me and I am pleased to be able to provide leadership for the Faculty during the upcoming months.
 
For those of you who don’t me, I am an oral maxillofacial surgeon and have been on the faculty here at Dal for 20 years, most recently as the chair of the Oral and Maxillofacial Sciences Division.  I received my dentistry and surgery training at the University of Western Ontario and the University of Toronto respectively. Although I didn’t study dentistry here at Dal, my experiences elsewhere have made me keenly aware of what an extraordinary undergraduate education you receive here.
 
A special year lies ahead. Not only will our clinic renewal project draw to a close in early 2018, but next year also marks the 200th anniversary of Dalhousie University. It is fitting that these two milestones should coincide and provide us with many opportunities to celebrate both the Faculty’s and university’s achievements.
 
My plan for the year ahead is to continue with the projects Dr. Tom Boran, our past dean, was working on, including the re-opening of the renovated clinic early in 2018 and maintaining and extending our wide-ranging outreach program, which is a particular passion of mine.
 
Meanwhile, the search for a permanent dean will continue and we will update everyone in the Faculty when the results of that process are known.
 
I look forward to seeing everyone at the softball tournament on August 30 and to working with you over the coming months. Welcome and welcome back!
 
Ben Davis