Penn Dental Medicine Enters Second Phase of Campaign to Modernize Facilities

Date: October 18, 1999
Contact: Office of Communications
(215) 573-8224

The University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine (SDM) has recently entered the second phase of its Gateway Campaign, a capital campaign in support of a comprehensive program of renovation and construction which, according to school officials, will expand and modernize virtually all of its teaching clinics.

According to SDM Dean Raymond Fonseca, the school has already raised nearly $30 million, including a leadership gift of $4 million from Dr. Robert Schattner, SDM alumnus and president of Sporicidin. Dr. Schattner's gift, the largest in the school's history, provided key funding for a new building at SDM, to be named the Robert Schattner Center. Groundbreaking for the Schattner Center took place in April, and occupancy is slated for fall 2000.

The second phase of capital improvements to be funded through the Gateway Campaign includes renovation of the clinics housed in the school's main facility, which was built in 1915. The first of these projects, renovation of a pediatric/special needs patient clinic, will begin in the summer of 1999. This renovation is being supported by a grant of over $1.2 million from the Health Resources and Services Administration, Department of Health and Human Services.

The capital campaign is scheduled to run until 2003, which is the 125th anniversary of the school. Dean Fonseca believes that the significance of the timing of the campaign is not lost on the school's extended community. "The University, our alumni, and friends have already recognized that this capital program is essential to our future success in teaching, research, and care," notes Dean Fonseca. "We are optimistic that, as we enter this new phase of our campaign, we will find a broad base of support."