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Leon Davis and his wife, Janelle. |
Today (Sept. 28), these graduates will share more than a few words of gratitude with the man, whom they believe, has built the oral and maxillofacial surgery residency program at UNMC into what it is today — one of the best in the country.
The program’s alumni will honor their mentor with the establishment of the $1 million Leon F. Davis, D.D.S., M.D., Distinguished Chair of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at UNMC. Gift commitments made by graduates, corporations and Dr. Davis’ colleagues, family and friends to the University of Nebraska Foundation have funded the endowed faculty position.
“He led by example, and I think his knowledge and experience is recognized by all the residents who have trained here; not only here, but around the country,” said Bruce Kuhn, D.D.S., M.D., a 1988 graduate of the program and president of Oral Maxillofacial & Facial Plastic Surgeons in Omaha.
Dr. Davis was among the first residents in the UNMC oral surgery residency program in 1967. By the mid-1970s he returned to the University of Nebraska to direct a groundbreaking program that, under the leadership of C.F. Singer, Jr., D.D.S., had challenged the status quo in oral surgery training. In 1971, UNMC launched the country’s first integrated double degree program to train oral surgery residents in both medicine and dentistry.
“We were out there all by ourselves,” said Dr. Davis, who stepped down as director in 2001, but remains on the faculty. “We received both support and criticism, but we have stood the test of time.”
Of the 105 oral surgery programs in the country, roughly one-half use the double degree (D.D.S.-M.D.) model pioneered at UNMC.
The UNMC oral and maxillofacial surgery program is a five-year residency for students who have completed their training in dentistry. Throughout the program, residents earn a medical degree, a general surgery certificate and an oral surgery certificate. The program’s alumni include 58 graduates.
According to Dr. Davis’ successor, Michael Miloro, D.M.D., M.D., the establishment of the Davis Chair allows the UNMC program to increase its faculty and potentially recruit a distinguished researcher in oral and maxillofacial surgery.
“The Davis Chair provides us the funding to attract a renowned researcher whose research projects, presentations and publications will bring increased national and international exposure to our program,” Dr. Miloro said. “It also will help us maintain quality resident recruitment and ultimately, as the profession evolves, take the program to the next level.”
With the addition of new faculty, Dr. Davis said the program could remain focused on an important aspect of resident education — exposing students to multiple examples of patient care.
“Residents actually come out of their programs with a composite of what their experiences have been,” he said. “The more residents are exposed to different faculty and different approaches, the more they are challenged and stimulated. Greater faculty support truly enriches the residents’ training experiences.”
Dr. Davis said he is particularly “warmed” by the alumni’s commitment to the endowed chair, and the message their generosity sends. “This support says our graduates share the same interest in this program and its continuation,” he said.
Valmont Desa, D.D.S., M.D., a 2004 graduate of the program, agrees. “People who participate in the program are very grateful for the training,” he said. “It’s important for them to do whatever they can to ensure the longevity of the program and its future success. We see this as a very valuable opportunity, and I’m privileged to be able to contribute to it.”