Mark R. Patters, DDS, PhD

It is a great honor to be the 15th Dean of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Dentistry (UT COD). I would like to highlight just a few of our accomplishments:

• The college is fully accredited and the last two site visits were completed with no recommendations for improvement and several commendations.
• The pre-clinical teaching laboratories have been completely renovated with addition of state-of-the-art equipment, including forty virtual reality patient simulators.
• UT COD students have performed above the national average on Part I of the National Dental Boards for the past several years and have consistently ranked in the top ten dental schools in Part II National Board Scores.
• The American Student Dental Association is ranked among the top in the nation, winning Chapter of the Year for two consecutive years. The Student National Dental Association was presented the Best Chapter of the Year Award four years in a row (2000-2004). Our Student Research Program ranks in the top five of U.S. schools sending students to make research presentations at the IADR/AADR meeting.
• The Hinman Student Research Symposium is a national meeting of dental students and graduate trainees who have participated in dental research and features oral and poster presentations of research studies. The Symposium is co-sponsored by UT COD and the Hinman Dental Society, with the support of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), the TDA Foundation, the Procter & Gamble Co., and Viral Antigens, Inc.

As dean, it is a privilege to be working with the faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends to continue the rich heritage of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Dentistry.