CHICAGO (September 16, 2009) – Seven members of the American Association of Endodontists were recognized with the organization’s highest awards at its recent 2009 Annual Session in Orlando, Fla. In addition, a former AAE staff member received Honorary Membership in the Association.
Those recognized include:
Jeffrey W. Hutter, D.M.D., M.Ed., who received the Edgar D. Coolidge Award, given for leadership and exemplary dedication to dentistry and endodontics. Dr. Hutter has served as a past president and director of the AAE, and as a director of the American Board of Endodontics. An AAE member since 1980 and a Diplomate of the American Board of Endodontics since 1987, his career has been marked by the highest levels of performance and leadership. He currently serves on several dental community committees and boards, including the Journal of Endodontics Scientific Advisory Board and the Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, Oral Radiology and Endodontology advisory board. He chairs the American Dental Association Evidence-Based Dentistry Advisory Committee, and is vice chair of the ADA Commission on Dental Accreditation. Dr. Hutter received the AAE Louis I. Grossman Award in 1975, and has also received the American Academy of Oral Pathology Award and the International College of Dentists Achievement Award. Dr. Hutter is a retired captain with the U.S. Navy who currently is dean of the Goldman School of Dental Medicine at Boston University. A resident of Chelsea, Mass., he also maintains a private practice in Boston.
Al Reader, D.D.S., M.S., was honored with the Louis I. Grossman Award for cumulative publication of significant research studies that have made an extraordinary contribution to endodontics. Dr. Reader has had a tremendous influence on endodontics through his publications related to pain management, specifically regarding local dental anesthesia. His body of work over 28 years encompasses 181 articles, book chapters, textbooks and abstracts on a variety of endodontic topics. He is also a reviewer of several dental publications, including the Journal of Endodontics, Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, Oral Radiology and Endodontology and the Journal of the American Dental Association. A Diplomate of the American Board of Endodontics since 1985, he has received the Columbus Dental Society Clinician Award several times throughout his career. A former director of the American Board of Endodontics, Dr. Reader has been active in numerous associations, including the AAE and the Ohio Association of Endodontists. He is currently emeritus professor and program director for the advanced specialty program in endodontics at The Ohio State University.
Samuel Kakehashi, D.D.S., M.Sc., received the Ralph F. Sommer Award, recognizing the principal author(s) of a publication of specific significance to endodontology. A retired periodontist, Dr. Kakehashi has a 50-year tradition of remarkable work in the dental community. While he has published 18 papers in referred journals, he is best known for coauthoring an article titled, “The effects of surgical exposures of dental pulps in germ-free and conventional laboratory rats” (1965), in Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, a work referenced by many endodontists and pulp biologists. Dr. Kakehashi began his career as a clinical staff periodontist at the Clinical Center National Institutes of Health and later served as chief of the periodontal disease program for the National Institute of Dental Research in Bethesda, Md. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology and has had academic appointments as a special lecturer at the U.S. Naval Dental School and as a clinical associate professor at Georgetown University Dental School in Washington, D.C. Dr. Kakehashi maintained a private practice limited to periodontics in Bethesda from 1980 until 1996, when he retired from clinical practice. He is currently a resident of Tucson, Ariz.
Gary R. Hartwell, D.D.S., M.S., was recognized with the I.B. Bender Lifetime Educator Award, given to educators whose contributions to endodontics have demonstrated excellence and have instilled the same in his/her students. Dr. Hartwell has been a dedicated educator for 42 years, and is a well-respected mentor to his students and colleagues. He has served in a variety of teaching positions in the military and private sector, including director of the endodontic residency programs at Madigan Army Medical Center, Eisenhower Army Medical Center and Virginia Commonwealth University School of Dentistry. Dr. Hartwell also served as professor and chair of the department of endodontics at these three locations. He has been a clinical professor in the department of endodontics at the Medical College of Georgia and a part of the teaching faculty at the Medical College of Virginia Hospital and the Veterans Administration Hospital in Hampton, Va. A past president of the American Board of Endodontics and former trustee of the AAE Foundation, Dr. Hartwell is currently an AAE District II director. He has been active on a number of boards and associations, including the Journal of Endodontics Editorial and Scientific Advisory Boards, the Richmond Dental Society and the Virginia Dental Association. A resident of Richmond, Va., he currently is professor, chair and program director of the department of endodontics at the University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey.
John D. Hartness, D.D.S., received the Spirit of Service Lifetime Dental Community Volunteer Award. The award is given to an individual who has demonstrated true leadership through a lifetime of activities in the dental community and with dental organizations to benefit underserved patients. An outstanding member of the AAE since 1973, Dr. Hartness has served on many committees. He has volunteered for many years with the dental staff of Nash General Hospital in Rocky Mount, N.C. He has also served as a dental consultant to the North Carolina Medical Assistance Program and coordinated health care delivery for the underserved population in eastern North Carolina for the 5th District Dental Society of North Carolina. He has served on the Board of Visitors at North Carolina Wesleyan College, and as a dedicated trustee, Dr. Hartness has given his time and talent to various committees for the college. In addition to that contribution, he has served for many years as a volunteer assistant clinical professor in the endodontic department at the University of North Carolina School of Dentistry. Dr. Hartness is a past recipient of the North Carolina Wesleyan College Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award, a member of the Omicron Kappa Upsilon Honorary Dental Society, a Diplomate of the American Board of Endodontics since 1975, and was awarded a fellowship in the International College of Dentists in 2008. He was instrumental in building the Hartness Student Center at North Carolina Wesleyan College in 1997. The Rocky Mount, N.C. resident is a past president of the Nash Edgecombe Halifax Dental Society and the Tarheel Endodontic Association, and has served as chair of the Southern Endodontic Study Group. Dr. Hartness also served in the United States Army from 1943-1946, and was awarded membership in the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Knights Hospitaller.
Robert A. Goldberg, D.D.S., was recognized with the Spirit of Service New Practitioner Dental Community Volunteer Award, honoring individuals who have practiced less than 10 years and have demonstrated true leadership through activities in the dental community and with dental organizations to benefit underserved patients. An AAE member since 2003, Dr. Goldberg is a member of the AAE Clinical Practice Committee (serving as chair from 2006-2008), and is also a member of the Journal of Endodontics Scientific Advisory Board. His leadership roles include service as a past chair of the AAE Resident and New Practitioner Committee and as a member of the University of Illinois at Chicago Admissions Committee. He has been honored with the Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award from Nova Southeastern University, Best Clinical Presentation Award from Omicron Kappa Upsilon and the Walter E. Dundon Memorial Award from the Odontographic Society of Chicago. Dr. Goldberg is a clinical associate professor at UIC and Evanston Northwestern Hospital General Practice Dentistry Residency Program. A resident of Long Grove, Ill., he maintains a private practice in Buffalo Grove, Ill.
Terryl A. Propper, D.D.S., M.S., was the recipient of the prestigious President’s Award, which has been bestowed only five times in the award’s history. It is reserved for the rare member who has uniquely participated in the AAE during his or her lifetime by working behind the scenes. An active and energetic member of the AAE since 1988, Dr. Propper has taken on a variety of leadership roles, including chairing eight committees within the AAE, serving on the Board of Directors and acting as a trustee to the AAE Foundation. In 2001, Dr. Propper served as the first female general chair of the AAE Annual Session held in New Orleans, La., and has committed to serving on the Annual Session Planning Committee for the next four years. She is an active member of the American Association of Women Dentists and the Tennessee Dental Association, and a past president of the Nashville Dental Society. She has received the Richard Sullivan Leadership Award from the Nashville Dental Society and the Fellowship Award from the Tennessee Dental Association. Dr. Propper currently is an assistant clinical professor at the Vanderbilt University Department of Dentistry, and a senior partner in a group practice in Brentwood, Tenn.
Jill E. Cochran, M.A., was bestowed Honorary Membership in the AAE, which recognizes individuals who have significantly contributed to the advancement of endodontics but are otherwise ineligible for AAE membership. Honorary status is a truly rare achievement; only 26 individuals have been given this prestigious honor since its inception in 1948. Ms. Cochran served as the Association’s assistant executive director for policy for 17 years before transitioning into retirement in 2008. During her tenure, she provided support to such vital committees as Dental Benefits, Governmental Affairs, Professional Conduct and Ethics, Public and Professional Affairs, and Membership Services, among others. Her work on governance and policy issues kept the AAE on pace within the profession over the years and modernized many processes within the specialty. She currently resides in Carmel, Ind.
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About the AAE
The American Association of Endodontists (www.aae.org), headquartered in Chicago, Ill., represents more than 7,200 members worldwide, including approximately 95 percent of all eligible endodontists in the United States. The Association, founded in 1943, is dedicated to excellence in the art and science of endodontics and to the highest standard of patient care. The Association inspires its members to pursue professional advancement and personal fulfillment through education, research, advocacy, leadership, communication and service.