Penn Dental Medicine’s White Coat Ceremony Welcomes Class of 2022

Members of the Class of 2022 following the White Coat Ceremony.

Philadelphia — Penn Dental Medicine welcomed the Class of 2022 DMD students to the study of dental medicine at its annual White Coat Ceremony, held August 13 at Penn’s Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts. This annual tradition holds symbolic significance for members of the incoming class as they are presented with a white coat and declare their commitment to assume the responsibilities of the dental profession.

This year’s 134-member class is made up of 84 women and 50 men, representing 25 states and 7 foreign countries (Canada, Morocco, People’s Republic of China, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam). Twelve members of the class are legacy students with relatives who are Penn Dental Medicine graduates or current students. The highly accomplished students, selected from nearly 2,200 applicants, had an average overall GPA of 3.76 in their undergraduate studies.

“As the first class I have the pleasure to welcome to the Penn Dental Medicine community as Dean, this group of students will always be particularly special to me,” says Morton Amsterdam Dean Mark Wolff, who assumed the deanship in July. “I look forward to getting to know each of them personally over their time here.”

Along with opening remarks by Dean Wolff, the program included a keynote address by Dr. Antonia M. Villarruel, the Margaret Bond Simon Dean of Penn Nursing, and remarks by Dr. Uri Hangorsky, Associate Dean for Student Life and Admissions. Students were cloaked in their white coats by members of the faculty, including Dr. Faizan Alawi, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs; Dr. Beverley Crawford, Director of Diversity and Inclusion; and Dr. Olivia Sheridan, Assistant Dean for Admissions.

Following the introduction and cloaking of each student, the ceremony concluded with the reciting of the Penn Dental Medicine Professional Pledge, led by Dr. L Bui, a 2018 graduate of Penn Dental Medicine and current postdoctoral student in the Orthodontics program. A reception at Penn Dental Medicine followed the ceremony. The event is part of a two-week orientation for the Class of 2022.

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