Terrier Spotlight
Dominic DePaola ’64
By Alison Lowenstein
With an impressive and lengthy career in dentistry and academia that still continues, Dominic
DePaola ’64 credits St. Francis College for where he is today. “I would never have gotten here
without St. Francis… I will never forget the lessons of St. Francis and the Franciscan spirit,”
he said during a recent interview.
G
rowing up in Brooklyn in the 1960s,
texts. In addition, Dr. DePaola has presented more than
Dr. DePaola was the son of working-class
700 lectures, seminars and special education courses
parents: His father was a truck driver and his
at universities, foundations, private corporations,
mother was a homemaker/bookkeeper. He attended
professional organizations, and governmental agencies,
St. Francis Preparatory Academy before becoming
including the National Institutes of Health. Dr. DePaola
the first person in his family to attend college.
serves on the editorial boards of the American Journal
He said that St. Francis College was “an affordable
of Dentistry, and Dental Abstracts, and has also served
and quality liberal arts school for people who couldn’t
on the editorial advisory board of Prevention magazine.
afford college, which was remarkable for me.”
In 2001, Dr. DePaola was awarded an Honorary
Dr. DePaola entered St. Francis as a Biology
Membership to the American Dietetic Association
major, noting that at the time the department
(ADA), the only dentist ever so honored, and was elected
had only one faculty member. However, he pointed
Vice President of the American Association for Dental
out, all the department majors became doctors
or dentists.
Inspired by a visiting ER doctor,
Dr. DePaola said the doctor’s talk
“stimulated me to think about
medicine.” After graduation,
Dr. DePaola went to medical
Dr. Dominic DePaola ’64
Research (AADR) in 2002. The following year, he was
elected President of the AADR
“For me [St. Francis College] was the place where
I really got my career started… It’s a community.
It’s not just a place.”
school in Bologna, Italy, with fellow
served as the President of both
the American Dental Education
Association and the AADR. He is
currently the Academic Dean
at Nova Southeastern University
St. Francis alumni, but after a year,
he returned home to help his ailing father. Determined not to give up
and is the only person to have
College of Dental Medicine.
Yet with all of his successes, Dr. DePaola says he still owes a lot
his dream of pursuing a medical career, he applied to NYU Dental
to St. Francis. “For me it was the place where I really got my career
School, where he was offered a spot.
started.” He and his wife, Rosemarie, a nurse who attended
After graduating, Dr. DePaola completed a general dentistry intern-
St. Vincent’s Nursing School, are active in the St. Francis community.
ship at Beth Abraham Hospital in NYC, where he worked with Dr. Oliver
Although she didn’t attend the college, Dr. DePaola said, “She knew
Sacks, the acclaimed neurologist who later inspired the 1990 film
the kinds of things that were going on with the college.” Both make
Awakenings. While working with Dr. Sacks, Dr. DePaola decided to take
St. Francis a part of their philanthropic life. Noting that St. Francis
an academic approach to dentistry. Following Dr. Sacks’ advice to
is a “special place,” he clarifies by saying, “It’s a community. It’s
pursue a doctoral degree, Dr. DePaola subsequently earned a Ph.D.
not just a place.”
in Nutritional Biochemistry and Metabolism at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology.
More than 30 years later, Dr. DePaola has been the dean of notable
Dr. DePaola wants to help others obtain an education at the college.
He says he is impressed with the trajectory of St. Francis and that
it’s finally getting the recognition it merits. Looking back at his career,
dental schools, a prolific author and lecturer, and has published over
he said, “If I didn’t have the opportunity to go to St. Francis College,
75 scholarly articles and chapters in textbooks. He has also edited two
I wouldn’t know what I would be doing.” ●
S T. FR A NC I S COL L EGE T ERR IER | W IN T ER 2012–2013 | 11