L. Bodine Higley (’26 DDS) graduated with a D.D.S. from Iowa in 1926, he was promptly hired by the college to assist with predoctoral clinical teaching and developing a new orthodontics graduate program. He also developed ground-breaking research with the Iowa Facial Growth Study.

The nonprofit organization, Smile Train, awarded Iowa professor Azeez Butali a $40,000 grant to study the genetic causes of cleft lip and palate among the Zulu population in South Africa. Butali is an internationally recognized expert in the genetics of cleft lip and palate, particularly among African populations. Butali is working with Thriona Naicker, a trained Medical Geneticist and PhD student at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Butali serves as Naicker’s mentor for his dissertation research.

Rufus P. Beshears (1909) and Rosalie Reddick Miller (1958) were two of the first Black graduates of the College of Dentistry. Black history month at the College of Dentistry is an opportunity for us to look at our past, celebrate the accomplishments of our esteemed alumni, and drive us to become a more inclusive community for our students, alumni, staff, and faculty.

For 50 years, the Iowa City Free Medical and Dental Clinic has served the local community and partnered with the University of Iowa College of Dentistry and Dental Clinics. Numerous College of Dentistry faculty, staff, and students have been vital to the success of the free dental clinic.

Clark Stanford, distinguished professor and dean of the College of Dentistry at the University of Illinois Chicago, has been named dean of the University of Iowa College of Dentistry and Dental Clinics. He also will hold the Edwin Green Chair in Dental Leadership and will begin on April 1.