This week, I joined the faculty of the newest dental school in the country, Western University College of Dental Medicine in Pomona. I am a Clinical Managing Partner and an Assistant Professor. I'll be running a group practice within the dental clinic, teaching and role modeling for the students, and teaching classes as well. I'm excited for the change.On Saturday, August 8, we held our convocation, followed by a white coat ceremony. Above, you see our Dean Dr. James Koelbl, addressing us. I'm the farthest right in the picture, not that you can tell. We heard many inspiring messages to kick off the new school year.
Following the convocation, we had our white coat ceremony for the new dental students. This is an exciting moment, where we welcomed our 74 new students as colleagues and healers.
I had the opportunity as President of Tri-County Dental Society, to welcome the students into organized dentistry. I got a new white coat, too!
I get to work with a great group of people. Here you see most of our faculty. There are 10 of us so far. The students are a very diverse group, coming from places like Armenia, Bulgaria, Romania, Tunisia, The Philippines, El Salvador, and Texas. I have been very impressed with the quality of these young people. We also have 4 LDS students.
Heidi and I are standing with Dr. Koelbl before the white coat ceremony. This all started for us in December of 2007 when we were invited to the groundbreaking of the dental school. As we became acquainted with Dr. Koelbl and others associated with the school, we were impressed with the caliber of people there. Heidi encouraged me to ask about the requirements, and when I asked, Dr. Koelbl said "We're looking for people like you." He let me know when an opening came up, and I interviewed in February and was hired in March. My practice is now in escrow, and scheduled to close on August 24th if all goes well. I'll work part-time until the practice sells, then go full time. This is an exciting change for us, and I see the Lord's hand in it.
