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New dental center begins construction by Cindy Abole Public Relations About 450 people attended the Aug. 11 groundbreaking ceremony of the College of Dental Medicine’s new clinical education center, the campus’ latest building enterprise. When completed in 2008, the center will be the cornerstone of  the James B. Edwards College of Dental Medicine.   After the center is built, the entire college will be named after Edwards who is a former South Carolina governor, the first United States Secretary of Energy and MUSC  president (1982 to 2000).   Officials break ground Aug. 11 on the College of Dental Medicine's Clinical Education Center. From left are: Dr. Cotesworth Fishburne, MUSC Board of Trustee; Dr. Charles Hook, special assistant to the dean College of Dental Medicine; Dr. Charles Thomas, chairman, BOT; Dr. Richard DeChamplain, CDM dean emeritus; Dr. Ray Greenberg, MUSC president; Dr. James B. Edwards, president emeritus; Rev. Haden McCormick; Dr. James Wiseman, BOT; Dr. Larry Ferguson, president, S.C. Dental Association; Dr. Calvin Fuller, president, MUSC CDM Alumni Association; and  Dr. Jack Sanders, CDM dean.  The event featured dental school faculty, alumni, community leaders, patients and students at a ceremony held at the Basic Science Building. The new facility will be located on Bee Street on MUSC’s campus next to G Lot.           “We are incredibly proud of our dental school,” said MUSC President Ray Greenberg, M.D., Ph.D. “Its graduates consistently place in the top quartile of board scores in the nation. This is a tribute to the leadership of the college, most recently by dental deans [Richard] DeChamplain and  [John J.]  Sanders, and to the dedicated faculty and talented students. This school deserves a home that reflects the high caliber of its academic programs. One of the most reassuring parts of the effort to build a new dental school is the statewide support.”   The occasion marked a significant milestone in this longstanding building project. Originally slated for construction in the late 1990s, the project had been delayed due to funding challenges.      “Today, we begin a new chapter in the life of our college as we break ground for the nation’s newest and most advanced dental education facility, a center worthy of the proud program we have been able to build only through the dedicated service of our gifted faculty and staff,” said Sanders, DDS, dean of the College of Dental Medicine.      The new 107,000 square-foot center, which is estimated to cost $51 million, will be designed to support pre-doctoral and resident patient care programs and clinical dental services. The college’s administrative offices, lecture halls and labs will remain in the Basic Science Building. The six-story building was designed by LS3P Associates of Charlotte, N.C., and Wisconsin-based Kahler-Slater architects.   “In the last few years, the College of Dental Medicine’s proportion of 80 percent state funding has dwindled down to 32 percent funding. To make up the difference, the college must rely on revenues from its clinical operations and other donor resources to operate and support its mission of preparing dental medicine students and oral health care practitioners in the state in providing excellent care,” Sanders said.      The South Carolina General Assembly approved more than $13 million for the project, with the dental school’s commitment to raise the remaining funds from alumni, faculty and other private sources.   During the ceremony, Sanders lauded  the support of hundreds of individuals, businesses and organizations who have supported the college in this effort. Much of the support in this project comes from alumni and donors from across the state.      “Through your continued generosity and support, you are empowering us to build a center that our students, faculty, staff and patients so richly deserve,” Sanders said.   Dr. James B. Edwards, and wife Ann, participate in the Aug. 11 groundbreaking ceremony.  “This is a great day,” said James B. Edwards, DMD. “There are so many people I would like to thank, beginning with the General Assembly, Dr. Greenberg, Deans Sanders and DeChamplain, the MUSC Board of Trustees and especially S.C. Treasurer Grady Patterson, who helped arrange the bond anticipation notes for financing to create this building.”   “We have a great dental school with great faculty and wonderful students,” Edwards said. “When we get a new facility that we need so badly, there’s no end to what we can do to help satisfy the needs of the people of South Carolina and surrounding borders of our state to help improve their dental care and oral health. I’m proud to carry the name on this dental school, and accept this honor proudly.”   Established in 1967, the College of Dental Medicine has grown from its humble beginnings as the state’s premiere dental school. In 1970, it was moved to a facility not originally designed for dental instruction. Almost 36 years later, the program succeeds and is responsible for educating and preparing some of the country’s best-prepared dental professionals.   The dental school maintains an annual enrollment of 220 students and 28 residents. Program graduates are regarded as among the finest entering the dental profession in the country. More than 75 percent of South Carolina’s dentists are dental medicine alumni.     Friday, Aug. 18, 2006 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Island Publications at 849-1778, ext. 201.