Alumnus’ planned gift to support a four-year scholarship
By Diane Peters
The Faculty of Dentistry wants to open doors for students from underrepresented communities. And now, thanks to a generous, planned bequest, the Faculty of Dentistry is creating a significant new scholarship that’s all about making sure a promising student can afford dental school.
One of the largest single scholarships in the Faculty’s history, the scholarship will allow one or more students from an underrepresented background — likely Black, Indigenous or person of colour (BIPOC) — to complete their Doctor of Dental Surgery.
“When creating this, we wanted to make sure it would make a significant impact in the life of a student,” says Selina Esteves, director of advancement for the Faculty. “Given the current state of the world, we’re trying to open the door to allow for a more welcoming and inclusive environment and attract bright students who may have discounted dental school as an option.”
Worth approximately $20,000 every year for each of the four years of the DDS, the hope is this new scholarship will support a student who otherwise would not have been able to afford the program. The scholarship will be awarded to a new student every four years based on applications.
This new scholarship comes at a time when the Faculty is actively working to increase diversity.
Jim Lai, associate professor, teaching stream and vice dean of education, has a passion for diversity in dentistry, and has looked deeply at the data, particularly out of the U.S. He says studies show that modifying the admissions process to eliminate unconscious bias and creating a supportive learning environment that includes things like mentorship help increase retention and graduation rates for diverse students.
The Faculty is working on dealing with these factors, partly through the newly reformed diversity, inclusion, collegiality and equality (DICE) committee.
“Another pillar is financial, this will help with that,” says Lai. He applauds the scholarships four-year commitment to one student, as often students in financial need get a boost early on but struggle in later years to pay for their entire education.
A generous donor
The scholarship is the fruit of a gift from alumnus Fritz Wilhelm Hoerner, who graduated from the Faculty of Dentistry back in 1959. He pursued a career as a general dentist, serving patients for more than 40 years at his Toronto office.
Hoerner passed away in 2014 and stipulated that, upon the death of his son and heir, 25 per cent of whatever was left should used to “set up a scholarship fund for needy students” at the Faculty.
Esteves, dean Dan Haas and a team at the Faculty have worked closely to come up with a plan for the roughly $500,000 left in Hoerner’s will.
Since the wording in the will was left quite general, the team was able to create a scholarship that suited today’s more urgent needs and create something truly special.
Fine-tuning
The scholarship may be ready as early as fall 2021, or possibly the year after. The team is still working to finalize the financial side of things, set up an endowed fund, and draft the criteria for winning the award.
An important part of that criteria will be defining underrepresented groups at the Faculty. To do that, Lai has created a student diversity survey, which DDS1 students have already completed.
“We recognize the importance of diversity, but if you ask me if our class is diverse, I honestly don’t know. We don’t have any data on them,” says Lai, who notes that Canada has poor data on diversity in education in general, but particularly for dental schools. He wants to know more about dental students, and not just information around race.
“There are other types of diversity. LGBTQ2S+, or being a first-generation university student,” he says.
A way to give
The Faculty has been able to create this unique, life-changing scholarship because of the foresight of one of its alumni. Hoerner’s will offered the team both a generous bequest, but also the kind of wording that allowed the Faculty to direct funds where they are most needed now.
Donors can create their wills in a way that offers very clear direction, or more flexibility, it’s up to them. “We have language that we provide to our alumni and donors that help them craft their wills,” says Esteves. Prospective donors can also consult the University of Toronto’s giving page here for more guidance.
Any donor, no matter what their future wishes, can offer bequests through their will of varying amounts. This comes with tax benefits and allows donors to make sure they can take care of their own life needs, and those of their families, first before they give back.
“We have special people at UofT Dentistry who understand the importance of giving. It is a joy to see what visionary things people can do by leaving a bequest,” says Esteves.