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Dental Branch Hosts Celebration of Diversity, Inclusion
At a diversity celebration at the UT Dental Branch at Houston are, from left, Catherine Flaitz, D.D.S., interim dean; Frank Catalanotto, D.D.S., president of the American Dental Education Association; Paula O’Neill, Ed.D., assistant dean at the Dental Branch; and Eugene Sekiguchi, D.D.S., president of the American Dental Association.
Photo by Brian Schnupp
The presidents of two national dental associations were keynote speakers May 25 at “A Celebration of
Diversity, Culture and Inclusion” at The University of
Texas Dental Branch at Houston.
Eugene Sekiguchi, D.D.S., president of the American Dental Association, and Frank Catalanotto, D.D.S., president of the American Dental Education Association, were keynote speakers. “Both of these national leaders have developed platforms focused on diversity, culture, inclusion and access to care,” said Paula O’Neill, Ed.D., assistant dean for professional development at the UT Dental Branch.
The celebration featured an overview of the diversity plan of the UT Health Science Center at Houston, as well as reports on diversity and the activities of minority-concerned groups at the university.
“The students are very interested in exploring issues such as how dentistry and medicine can embrace diversity, what programs are in place to encourage minority recruitment to dental schools, and how minorities can gain access to health and dental care,” O’Neill said.
The following dental students represented their organizations in a panel discussion: Erin Cummings, Student American Dental Hygiene Association; Sylvester Gonzales, Hispanic Student Dental Association; Yousef Jefferson, Student National Dental Association; Alice Luan, American Student Dental Association; Linh Luu, Asian American Student Dental Association; Katie Olson, Texas Association of Women Dentists; and TyroneRodriguez, Houston Student InterCouncil.
The forum was co-sponsored by the Greater Houston Dental Society.
— By Shannon Rasp, Public Affairs