Richard C. Oliver

Outstanding Achievement Award Recipient

School of Dentistry, September 28, 2012

Richard C. Oliver, the eighth dean of the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry, received a D.D.S. degree from the University in 1953. Prior to returning to Minnesota, he served as Professor of Periodontics and Director of Post-graduate Periodontics at the University of Southern California and in 1975, he was appointed Dean of the University of Southern California School of Dentistry. In 1997, he was appointed Dean of the School of Dentistry at the University of Minnesota, where he served in that capacity for nine years before returning to teaching and research with a joint appointment in Dentistry and in the Center for Health Services Research in the School of Public Health. During his tenure as dean at the University of Minnesota, he was credited with placing a strong emphasis on the student experience and known for his astute fiscal management of the School during a period of declining resources. He is described as a visionary leader and administrator who helped position the School of Dentistry to better meet the new and emerging needs of the profession at a critical juncture. He served as chairman of the Council of Deans and later was named President of the American Association of Dental Schools. He served as a member of the American Dental Association House of Delegates for 18 years, as a member of the Executive Committee of the American Academy of Periodontology, as a Fellow of American College Dentists and the International College of Dentists, and as president of the Western Society of Periotontology and Editor. He is the author of 33 publications and three book chapters as well as an invited lecturer in 17 countries.

Biographies are as-of time of award presentation.