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Hours: Mon- Sat 9:30-6:30,Thur*. 9:30-9:00.
Mon. • Fri. 10 • 5
Sat. 10 - 4
843-8606
The Balconies
290 Hilderbrand Dr.
(Off Roswell Rd. - by
The Punchline)
Give yourself
and your family
a gift never to
be forgotten
B’nai Torah’s
Semi-
_ Annual
Family
Tour of
Israel
with 3 night
weekend in Paris
June 17 - 30
Hosted by
Rabbi
Juda Mintz
Tour includes:
• Roundtrip Air
Direct from Atlanta
(by-pass New York)
• -5-star Deluxe
Hotels
• All Kosher
Breakfasts &
Dinners
• All Sightseeing
& Entrance Fees
4‘ ■ *'
All inclusive cost:
$1995
{$200 reduction ..
for children under 12)
You are invited
to meet the
men, women, &
children who
are planning to
join the tour
Sunday, Mar. 10
7:30 P.M.
(RSVP 257-0537)
Congregation
B’nai Torah
700 Mt. Vernon Hwy.
Open to the
entire community
For information
and brochure
, with detailed
itinerary
call
257-0537
Closing of Emory dental school
shocks entire Atlanta community
by Joseph I. Glazer, DDS
The sudden, unexpected, announce
ment last week by Emory Univer
sity that it plans to close its School
of Dentistry, sent shock waves through
out the entire Atlanta dental com
munity.
In spite of all the forebodings on
the horizon: Lower numbers of
applications for enrollment, sky
rocketing costs reflected in higher
tuition, the felt presence of the
newer neighboring schools—all of
them state-supported—everyone
was amazed when the final blow
fell. It was taken for granted that
dental education was so essential
to the overall professional curricu
lum that its elimination would be
impossible.
As one student so piercingly put
it, “You wouldn’t close down the
history department if at certain
times there weren’t enough stu
dents, would you?” This is approx
imately what is going to happen.
Once upon a time, the Emory
University School of Dentistry,
which was an outright growth in
1947 of the Atlanta Southern Den
tal College—itself a combination
of the Atlanta Dental College and
the old Southern Dental college,
dating back to the 1890s—was al
most the only dental school in the
whole Southeast. The state of Flor
ida paid a yearly stipend to guaran
tee a number of seats for its resi
dents. Both the Carolinas, Ala
bama, and Mississippi also fed the
school every year. Some few came
from the far away Northeast. Then
a change came in.
Under President Lyndon John
son, the government felt a need to
increase its aid to dental education.
The small dental school at Augusta,
under the aegis of the University of
Georgia, began to grow. Charles
ton and Chapel Hill opened com
pletely new schools. Florida at
Gainesville followed suit, Missis
sippi soon after, and now the pro
spective dental student had a great
er choice, plus considerable aid
from Washington and his own state.
Emory lost its exclusiveness. Every
private institution in these states
felt constraints.
Added to all this, there is evidence
that fluoridating our water (so vio
lently opposed by some, including
our former Mayor William B. Harts-
field) is eliminating caries, and
therefore, fewer people in this field
are needed. Finally, there are signs
that fewer young men and women
want to “put in” a fourth of their
lives into a career that isn’t as op
portunistic as hi-tech, or just plain
business. “Young people are look
ing for short-term payoffs.” This
according to The New York Times,
Sunday, Feb. 10, 1985, page 1 arti
cle on “Enrollment in Professional
Schools Declining.”
The bottom line is that the Em
ory University School of Dentistry
may now be coming to an end.
“It’s sad, but we’ve been seeing it
coming,” said Dr. Edward Sugar-
man in a telephone interview. Dr.
Sugarman is the current president
of the Fifth District Dental Society.
“I’m simply aghast,” said Dr.
Marvin Goldstein. “It has been a
sudden shock to everybody.” Dr.
Goldstein is a former president of
the Fifth District Dental Society.
Dr. Mary Lynn Morgan (widow
of the late, beloved Ralph McGill),
the only woman member of the
Emory Board of Trustees, and her
self a graduate of its dental school,
said, “There’s just no way one can
prepare for such a decision.” She,
too, felt sad but she added, “The
administration thought it was a must.”
What all this means to Atlanta
dentists, is that a respected focus of
authority will disappear. Recent
scientific advances, seminars, post
graduate courses...all the benefits
which overflow from the mere ex
istence of a fountain of learning
will inevitably dry up. Patients will
suffer indirectly.
Of the 300 students presently en
rolled in the school, about 60 are
Jewish. A far greater proportional
Jewish presence is to be found on
the faculty, both full time and part
time. The dean of the dental school
is Dr. Michael Fritz. He is Jewish.
Certainly there will be great diffi
culty for a surplus faculty seeking
positions at a time when it is ru
mored other institutions face prob
lems too. But the main hardships
will fall on the students. The school
intends to "finish out” the present
classes but a demoralization and
fear of not meeting accreditation
standards is said to be already felt.
An organized rally in front of Ad
ministration Hall, supported by all
the dental students, was held Mon
day afternoon in the rain. It seems
to have had small effect.
However, there are some indi
cators that the university will make
every effort to salvage at least some
remnants of post graduate educa
tion. It is thought that some overall
effort by alumni will be made to
present an alternative for reconsi
deration. For the present, it is
despair.
A particularly poignant, special,
sadness will fall on those who are,
and have been, affiliated with Al
pha Omega, the outstanding Jew
ish dental fraternity which in earlier
years fought so vigorously for Jew
ish acceptance in dentistry. The or
ganization has been highly success
ful in Atlanta. The alumni chapter
here has given Alpha Omega three
international presidents, and Atlan
ta was host for the yearly conven
tion two times recently. Of late, AO
participation in the development
of both the dental schools in Israel,
the older one in Jerusalem at Ha-
dassah Hospital and the newer one
in Tel Aviv, has been phenomenal.
The core of this Jewish fraternal
activity was always found in the
dental school. The undergraduates
and their “big brothers” stimulated
each other in a most fruitful way.
Maybe it’s just a bad dream.
Maybe the school will find a way.
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‘The bottom line is that the Emory
University School of Dentistry may now
be coming to an end. ’