Giving Back

Dear James B. Edwards College of Dental Medicine alumni and friends,

It was excellent to connect with those of you who came home to MUSC for Alumni Weekend Feb. 25-26! It is a highlight of the year. The college is fortunate to have such a strong and growing alumni base.

Over breakfast, I had the pleasure of sharing updates on the James B. Edwards College of Dental Medicine, our vision of innovating the future of oral health and wellness, updates from MUSC and insight into the landscape of dental education in the U.S.

We also enjoyed oysters, Lowcountry fare, cocktails, music and – most importantly – catching up on relationships built personally and professionally through the college. It is a true honor to hear of our alumni’s successes and positive impact on oral health and wellbeing in South Carolina, and far beyond.

If you have any feedback for future events, please reach out to myself, Ms. Kelly Duffy, assistant director of Alumni Affairs, or Ms. Stephanie Oberempt, director of development. If you missed this year’s event, I hope you’ll plan to attend next year.

In other news from the James B. Edwards College of Dental Medicine, we recently recognized the generosity of Dr. John and Mrs. Lil Paxton. Dr. Paxton, Class of 1975, and Mrs. Paxton are longtime supporters of the school. When fully funded, the Dr. and Mrs. John H. Paxton Special Needs Dentistry Endowment will benefit the college’s special care dentistry program. Like the previously shared endowment and lectureship gifted in memory of Dr. Rocky Napier, Class of 1987, this long-term gift from Dr. and Mrs. Paxton will aid in the diversification of the college's sources of funding, ensuring that we will be here to meet the future needs of oral health practice in South Carolina and beyond. I am most grateful to Dr. and Mrs. Paxton for their visionary and inspiring generosity.

As always, thank you for your steadfast support of the college. In order to attract and retain the most gifted and deserving students, we must be able to offer them significant scholarship support. This is in tandem with the fact that we have not increased tuition and fees for the last five consecutive years. We couldn’t do what we do in education, research and patient care without you! Our alumni continue to be at the forefront of progress in our Pay It Forward student scholarship campaign, and we are most grateful.

Sincerely,

Sarandeep Huja, D.D.S., Ph.D.