MUSC names interim College of Dental Medicine Dean
June 13, 2016
CHARLESTON, SC – Patricia L. Blanton, D.D.S., Ph.D., has been named interim dean of the College of Dental Medicine. This appointment is contingent upon MUSC Board of Trustees approval at the August 2016 meeting.
Blanton has served as a professor and practicing clinician in the Department of Stomatology since 2014. She has spent the lion share of her academic career at the Baylor University College of Dentistry and the University Graduate School and is now professor emerita. During her tenure at Baylor, Blanton demonstrated notable achievement as an academic administrator, educator, extramurally funded researcher, and clinician. Her primary fields of interest are periodontics, oral medicine, and anatomy. She has served in numerous national organizations including the American Dental Association, and in roles such as Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) Commissioner, consultant for the American College of Dentists Foundation Board, president of the American College of Dentists, vice president of the American Dental Association, member of the ADA Presidential Taskforce on Commission on Dental Accreditation, and a member of the editorial board of The Journal of the American Dental Association, among many other accomplishments.
Blanton is the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions during her tenure at Baylor University including nomination to the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame for Health and Research, the Baylor College of Dentistry Distinguished Alumni Award, the Dallas County Dental Society Dentist of the Year Award, Dallas County Dental Society Lifetime Achievement Award, the Student Clinicians of the American Dental Association Lifetime Achievement Award, the American Association of Women Dentists’ 2008 Woman Dentist of the Year/Lucy Hobbs Taylor Award, and the Commanders Award from the Europe Regional Dental Command. The Texas A&M Health Science Center Baylor College of Dentistry biomedical sciences library was named in her honor.
About MUSC
Founded in 1824 in Charleston, The Medical University of South Carolina is the oldest medical school in the South. Today, MUSC continues the tradition of excellence in education, research, and patient care. MUSC educates and trains more than 3,000 students and residents, and has nearly 13,000 employees, including approximately 1,500 faculty members. As the largest non-federal employer in Charleston, the university and its affiliates have collective annual budgets in excess of $2.2 billion. MUSC operates a 750-bed medical center, which includes a nationally recognized Children’s Hospital, the Ashley River Tower (cardiovascular, digestive disease, and surgical oncology), Hollings Cancer Center (a National Cancer Institute-designated center) Level I Trauma Center, and Institute of Psychiatry. For more information on academic programs or clinical services, visit musc.edu. For more information on hospital patient services, visit muschealth.org.
