Henry St. Germain Jr., D.M.D., has been appointed chairman of the College of Dentistry’s adult restorative dentistry department at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
Dr. St. Germain becomes the deparment’s fourth chairman in its 23-year history.
His appointment came after a national search, said Stephen Leeper, D.D.S., dean of the College of Dentistry, which is located in Lincoln.
“Dr. St. Germain brought a wealth of knowledge with him from his experience in the U.S. Navy Dental Corps, not only in his special area of expertise — operative dentistry — but also from his leadership roles in the service,” Dr. Leeper said.
Dr. St. Germain, a native of Amesbury, Mass., received his bachelor’s degree from the University of New Hampshire and his D.M.D. from Tufts University School of Dental Medicine in Boston. He also holds master’s degrees from Indiana University School of Dentistry and George Washington University.
Commissioned as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy Dental Corps in 1975, Dr. St. Germain served 20 years in the military, retiring as a captain in June 1995. He served as chairman of the operative dentistry department at the Naval Dental School in Bethesda, Md., from 1990-95.
In 1995, he was appointed associate professor and director of the section of operative dentistry at UNMC.
As chairman, Dr. St. Germain will lead a department consisting of 12 full-time and 14 part-time faculty and six staff members.
The department was formed in 1974 by former Dean Richard Bradley, D.D.S. He combined the departments of fixed prosthodontics (crowns and bridges), removable prosthodontics (dentures and partial dentures) and operative dentistry (fillings) into one department. Joan Sivers, D.D.S. associate professor, has been serving as interim department chair.
Dr. St. Germain said moving the department forward shouldn’t be difficult because of his colleagues at the college.
“We are lucky to have a highly motivated faculty and staff, and are blessed with the best students in the country,” he said.