Acknowledging influence
By Diane Peters
For 30 years, the Faculty of Dentistry awarded the prestigious Award of Distinction to researchers, teachers, clinicians and industry innovators who achieved distinction in dentistry and contributed significantly to the profession.
They were honoured at a spring gala surrounded by their peers and Faculty leaders.
(Want to know who the winners were over the years? Here’s a list.)
Last year, the Faculty decided to shake things up by renaming the award, downsizing the gala, and reframing the purpose of the award program.
“We wanted to broaden the scope of the award and be more inclusive,” says Rachel Castellano, alumni and donor relations at the Faculty. While the previous award acknowledged those with long and successful careers, this new award recognizes influence.
Castellano says the wording choice was deliberate and much more timely. An influencer in dentistry could have altered the profession after decades of important work. Or they could be in their mid or even early career setting a new standard for change or contribution. An influencer is someone who is doing great things in their community. It was a calculated decision to recognize the value so many of our alumni bring to the world around us.
Shiva Shadmand 9T9 PhD, 0T3 MSc Ortho received one of the inaugural Alumni of Influence award, as an emerging influencer, last year. Anne Dale 5T8 and Susan Sutherland 8T4 were also acknowledged under the new award program.
“It was a shock and an honour,” Shadmand recalls of being named last spring.
Because of the pandemic, there was no award ceremony, but Shadmand spent much of the spring on group Zoom calls with many friends and colleagues, who complimented her on her win. As well, many from the profession reached out with congratulations.
She says her win triggered a lot of conversations about doing pro bono work, and other issues Shadmand is passionate about, including the importance of orthodontics for young people, many of whom are bullied for their teeth before treatment.
The award rebranding, she says, got the attention of mid-career dentists. “I think it’s motivating,” she says, noting winning made her double down herself. “It makes you want to do more. When you’re acknowledged, you think, I want to deserve this!”
The Alumni of Influence Award seeks to acknowledge those in the dental community doing good work and those who deserve to be noticed.
Mike Pharoah 7T5, 8T4 MSc, 8T5 Dip OR won the Award of Distinction in 2016. The former professor and head of oral radiology was a long-time co-author of the seminal textbook Oral Radiology: Principles and Interpretations and had received many acknowledgements from other dental schools and organizations. While his students had nominated him for the A. Bruce Hord Master Teacher Award in 2003-04, the Faculty itself, up until that time, had offered him little formal acknowledgement on his work.
“When I was selected, I was reticent to accept,” he admits. His wife, associate professor Linda Lee 7T7 urged him to go. “You will go and you will have fun,” she said.
She was right. “It gave me a chance to publicly thank those who had helped me in my career,” he says. He acknowledged his dentistry peers who had sent patients to the Faculty for imaging over the years. These patients gave oral radiology students valuable experience and offered Pharoah data for his research.
The 2021 winners of the Alumni of Influence Award will be profiled in the winter/spring issue of U of T Dentistry magazine. When possible, the Faculty will resume publicly recognizing the award winners.
If you know of alumni making a difference to the profession, healthcare or society in general, consider nominating them.
Learn how to nominate someone for an Alumni of Influence award.