UAMS Names Slagle to Lead Center for Dental Education
| LITTLE ROCK – Distinguished educator and longtime dental college dean William F. Slagle, D.D.S., M.Ed., has been named director of the Center for Dental Education in the College of Health Professions at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS).
Slagle, who has served as associate director for the Center for Dental Education since its 2011 inception, became director Jan. 1. He has continued to serve as a professor and dean emeritus for the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Dentistry, where he was dean for 23 years from 1980-2003. His career as a dental educator dates back to 1957 when he started as an instructor at the University of Missouri at Kansas City.
As director, Slagle will lead the center, which includes an Oral Health Clinic and expanding dental education programs. The center is working toward establishing postgraduate programs for dentists in advanced general dentistry and oral surgery as well as continuing education opportunities for practicing dentists in the state.
He succeeds Charles Cranford, D.D.S., M.P.A., who retired Dec. 31. Cranford arrived at UAMS in 1985 and led its Area Health Education Centers (AHECs) and later became the first vice chancellor for Regional Programs at UAMS. He continued as a part-time faculty member after retiring from Regional Programs until being appointed by UAMS Chancellor Dan Rahn, M.D., as special assistant for dental education initiatives that led to creation of the Center for Dental Education.
“Dr. Slagle’s commitment to dental education and his long experience in establishing and leading dental programs will continue the upward momentum of the Center for Dental Education,” said College of Health Professions Dean Douglas Murphy, Ph.D. “We are fortunate to have had leaders like Dr. Cranford and Dr. Slagle with the vision and drive to improve access to quality oral health care for Arkansans.”
Slagle earned his dental degree in 1957 from the University of Missouri at Kansas City. He received a master’s degree in administration of higher education in 1975 from the University of Memphis.
His professional affiliations include membership in the American Dental Association, the American Dental Education Association, American Association of Dental Research, American Association of Dental Examiners, and the Pierre Fauchard Academy.
Among his many honors, Slagle has received the highest award given by three state dental associations: Man of the Year in Dentistry in 1968 from the Oklahoma Dental Association, the Dr. Jack E. Wells Memorial Dedication to Dentistry Award in 2000 from the Tennessee Dental Association and the Distinguished Service Award in 2010 from the Arkansas State Dental Association.
UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a statewide network of regional centers; and seven institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, the Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy, the Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, the Psychiatric Research Institute, the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging and the Translational Research Institute. It is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has more than 2,865 students and 785 medical residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 10,000 employees, including about 1,000 physicians and other professionals who provide care to patients at UAMS, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the VA Medical Center and UAMS regional centers throughout the state. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com.