The Reporter: Dec 1994, Vol.5, No.4
Reporter at Large
Dentistry Dean Honored

Dr. Allan J. Formicola, dean of the School of Dental and Oral Surgery for the past 16 years, received a Second Century Award at the seventh annual Friends of Harlem Hospital Center gala in November. Hospital officials praised Dr. Formicola for improving the dental care of Harlem residents through his key role in developing the dental school's minority specialty program for training minority faculty.

A Georgetown University graduate in dentistry, Dr. Formicola pursued specialty training in periodontics and made his early contributions in academics in teaching posts at Georgetown University, the University of Alabama Medical Center in Birmingham, and the College of Medicine and Dentistry in New Jersey.

Throughout his career, Dr. Formicola developed a reputation as a progressive educator with the ability to both visualize the long-range future and carry out a practical agenda to implement advances in a team approach. At Columbia, he is credited with bringing strategic change in dental education through the award of a $1.1 million grant from the Pew Foundation.

Dr. Formicola's contributions to dental education extend beyond the university as well. He has served as vice president of the Commission on Dental Accreditation and as president of the American Association of Dental Schools, the national association representing dental education. He also served as a consultant and member of the Pew Foundation's Commission on the Future of Health Professions and as a consultant to the Veterans Administration.

Dr. Formicola is on sabbatical leave until July 1995.