The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) School of Dentistry has received a $27.68 million gift from the bequest of Dr. Claude A. Adams III, who practiced dentistry in Durham for almost 25 years and died in 2018.
To commemorate the donation, the school has been renamed the UNC-CH Claude A. Adams Jr and Grace Phillips Adams School of Dentistry in honor of his parents. It is the largest single donation in the school’s history.
“This is truly a transformative gift that changes everything for us—for our students, for our staff, for our faculty, for our alumni,” said dean Scott De Rossi, DMD, MBA. “We have the best dental school in the world, and now, with this gift, we’ll be able to move beyond excellence.”
The donation will impact thousands of lives across the state and nation as the school continues to train the next generation of dentists to provide compassionate, cutting-edge care, UNC-CH reports.
“The UNC-CH Adams School of Dentistry is a leading school in education and research, patient care, and community service,” said Kevin M. Guskiewicz, MS, PhD, interim chancellor of UNC-CH.
“This generous gift from Dr. Adams will help the school advance its work and focus on harnessing emerging technologies, developing new healthcare delivery models, and training the next generation of dentists,” Guskiewicz said.
“It’s commitment to helping the people of North Carolina is clear. Nearly 50% of our state’s dentists graduate from our dental school,” Guskiewicz said.
In addition to providing student scholarships, the grant will extend service-learning programs in 50 partner sites across North Carolina and will support faculty professorships and staff awards.
“With this gift, we can deepen our commitment to students though additional scholarship dollars and also to our community through increased financial support for service trips in North Carolina,” said De Rossi. “It is an honor for our school to now carry the Adams name, in accordance with Dr. Adams’ wishes as a tribute to his beloved parents.”
Pegah Khosravi-Kamrani, DDS candidate 2021, is a Claude A. Adams Jr scholarship recipient and one of more than 70 students who have benefitted from the gift, which will provide for individual student scholarships and support the school’s teaching, training, and public service programs.
“I am so grateful for this scholarship. It not only reduces my financial burdens, but it allows me to focus on my academic goals, my research goals, and my service goals to connect with communities locally and globally,” Khosravi-Kamrani said.
“I feel motivated and inspired to ask more of myself, to push my classmates more, to give back more,” she said. “[This gift] has asked me to get into research and better the community, the school, and everything in between.”
Related Articles
The World’s Best Dental Schools: 2019 Edition
Water Fluoridation Reduces Health Disparities Among Children
Felton Wins ACP Lifetime Achievement Award
