Awa rds & A chievement s
Penn Dental Medicine Awarded $1 Million Scholarship Grant
Penn Dental Medicine students with a passion for serving
vulnerable patients will now have a new resource to support
their interests and goals thanks to a $1 million scholarship
grant from the Delta Dental Community Care Foundation, the
philanthropic branch of Delta Dental of Pennsylvania. Delta
Dental’s Oral Health Education grant will endow in perpetuity
the awarding of two $25,000 scholarships each year to DMD
students who desire to work in an underserved area after
graduation and who have demonstrated a commitment to
community outreach during their studies. The grant award was
announced in August and the first application cycle will open
this fall for interested candidates in the current third-year class.
“While all of our students gain experience serving the underserved
through our community-based service learning courses, we see
a significant number of students with a great interest go above
and beyond what’s required and develop extensive experience
in the community,” said Dr. Joan Gluch, Division Chief of
Community Oral Health, and co-director of the grant with
Dr. Olivia Sheridan, Assistant Dean for Admissions. “What’s exciting
about this scholarship is that it will provide the support that
some students need to ultimately pursue this path after
graduation. The need is great, because approximately 48 million
people in the United States live in areas with dentist shortages.”
The scholarships, which will not reduce a student’s scholarship
package from other Penn Dental Medicine resources, are
intended to lighten overall expenses and debt during the
recipient’s fourth-year of study with the goal of clearing a path
for a student to pursue a career in community-based dentistry.
In addition to completing a minimum of 250 hours of community-
based service and finishing all their DMD requirements on time
in their fourth year, recipients must demonstrate employment
in a medically underserved or health professions shortage area
by October of their graduating year and commit to two years in
that role after graduation.
“We are thrilled with the generosity and vision of Delta Dental
to help us widen the doors of possibility for those students
committed to serving communities in need as they enter
professional practice,” says Dr. Mark Wolff, Morton Amsterdam
Dean of Penn Dental Medicine.
This scholarship grant is a project of the Power of Penn Dental
Medicine capital campaign, part of a University-wide initiative to
raise support for scholarships, community outreach and access
to care for vulnerable populations, research, and facilities.
M U LT I G E N E R AT I O N A L D E N TA L FA M I L I E S
Following our second printing of our Multigenerational Dental Families list that appeared in the September/October
issue, we received a note from Dr. Anthony R. Harlacher of Montoursville about his family, of which he is the third of three
generations of PDA members.
Third District
Anthony J. Harlacher, DDS (grandfather, deceased) – 1930 graduate of University of Maryland Dental School
Anthony C. Harlacher, DMD (father) – 1966 graduate of University of Pennsylvania
Anthony R. Harlacher DMD (son) – 1991 graduate of Unversity of Pennsylvania; was a member of Third District
but moved to Lycoming County, now Sixth District
N OVEM BER/DECEM BER 2018 | P EN N SYLVAN IA DEN TAL JOURNAL
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