GSDM DAB Member Sinkford Receives AAMC Herbert W. Nickens Award
American Dental Education Association (ADEA) Associate Executive Director and Director of the ADEA Center for Equity and Diversity Dr. Jeanne C. Sinkford received the 2009 Herbert W. Nickens Award on November 7 at the Association of American Medical College’s (AAMC) annual meeting.
The Herbert W. Nickens Award honors an individual who has made outstanding contributions to promoting justice in medical education and health care and is named for a former vice president of the AAMC. Dr. Sinkford was selected for this prestigious award based on her contributions to the dental and philanthropic communities. Through her ability to leverage human talent and financial resources she has helped realize ADEA ’s mission of delivering oral health care for the improvement of the health of the public.
As an Associate Executive Director and Director of the ADEA Center for Equity and Diversity, her work has provided numerous opportunities for women and underrepresented minorities in dental education through innovative faculty development and pipeline programs that include the ADEA/W.K. Kellogg Access to Dental Careers Program and the ADEA/W.K. Kellogg Minority Dental Faculty Development Program. She is also the creator of the ADEA International Women’s Leadership Conference that will be held for the fourth time in 2010 in Salvador, Brazil.
“Dr. Sinkford is a trailblazer in the health care community who uses her natural ability to see the big picture to enhance lives,” said ADEA President Ronald J. Hunt, DDS in a statement released by ADEA. “Her work has improved the access to oral health care for many, created new paths for students and educators in dental education, and continues to demonstrate the important connection between oral and systemic health. ADEA congratulates her on receiving this prestigious award.”
Dr. Sinkford has been a member of the Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine (GSDM) Dean’s Advisory Board since it’s creation in 2008. Prior to that she was a member of the GSDM Board of Visitors from 1981 to 2008.
“I am honored to have such an accomplished individual on my advisory board,” said Dean Jeffrey Hutter, adding, “Dr. Sinkford brings a unique and much needed perspective to the GSDM Dean’s Advisory Board.”
Dr. Sinkford also has the distinction of being the first female Dean of a United States dental school. She was appointed Dean at Howard University College of Dentistry (HUCD) in 1975 after serving as an Associate Professor and Associate Dean. She had been a member of the faculty since 1958, when she graduated first in her class from HUCD. She was awarded a MA in 1962 and a PhD in 1963 from Northwestern University and completed a residency in Pedodontics in 1964 at the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C.