Dentistry donor encourages students to explore
By Rachel Boutet
John Mayhall may not have been a U of T graduate, but as a longstanding Faculty member, he witnessed the impact of supporting students. It was this and his own adventurous career that inspired him to become a donor.
Mayhall’s donations have been used to create many funding opportunities for students at the Faculty of Dentistry including the Albert Dahlberg Admissions Scholarship, the Professor Forst Fuller Scholarship and most recently, the John T. Mayhall Student Travel Bursary.
“I want students to be able to travel outside of the city and observe what’s going on in other areas,” he says. “It’s not an inexpensive thing to be a dental student and I wanted to help out in any way I could.”
Mayhall enjoyed his years of travel before settling in Toronto. After graduating from dental school in Indiana, he moved to Alaska with his wife and worked in the U.S. Public Health Service.
“My classmates thought I was crazy,” he laughs. “But I learned a lot about different things that I never would have if I hadn’t gone.”
He continued his work along the coast of Alaska treating local tribes, and after a couple years, was assigned to the Aleutian Islands as a dental officer where he traveled from village to village by airplane to provide treatment to the local people. Mayhall returned to Indiana and went on to complete a PhD in anthropology at the University of Chicago. Shortly after, he was asked, through a connection, to move to Canada and participate in a worldwide study of environmental stressed populations.
“A lot of the chapters of my life have been made possible through the good relationships I made along the way,” he says. He moved to Toronto in 1970 and began teaching dental anthropology at U of T, which included many winter trips to treat people at Igloolik and Hall Beach in the then Northwest Territories.
“It’s important that we encourage this sense of adventure in students but we need to financially support it as well,” says Mayhall. “I have always encouraged students to be more than a dentist.”
Mayhall hopes his donations will help students gain life experience outside of the classroom and clinic and allow them to meet as many great people as he did.
“I read an article recently that inspired me not to wait to give,” he says. “You have to consider your own situation. Do you need all the money you have? Or could it be used now to change someone’s life? I see students who need support and I’m so grateful to be able to provide that to them.”
Liang Yang 2T1 was one of the students who benefited from a scholarship established by Mayhall’s donations.
“By awarding me with this scholarship, my financial burden was lightened, and I could be more focused on my learning experience,” says Yang. “The scholarship also enabled me to have more time participating in extracurricular activities. I look forward to continuing my career path in dentistry and I would like to thank you again for establishing this wonderful award.”
If you are interested in learning about how you can support the Faculty, please contact Julia Al Akaila, Development Officer at the Advancement Office at julia.alakaila@dentistry.utoronto.ca or at 416-864-8202.
Photo: John Mayhall