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The PFA Hall of Fame : A Perspective
by Dr. Joseph Cappuccio, Former Chairperson
The International Hall of Fame was conceived to do more than just honor those who helped shape our profession. Recognizing these dental greats call to mind the ongoing evolvement of our profession from competitors to colleagues, from charlatans to scientists. Our Hall of Fame captures the real difference between dentistry and other fields in that we labor for the betterment of those we serve.
How right for the Pierre Fauchard Academy to sponsor this project and to first honor Pierre Fauchard of France, who gave birth to the selfless dental profession. In the time of yellow journalism and the six-o'clock news exposes, our Hall of Fame reminds us and the public we serve that , generation after generation, those we honor crafted the fine art and science of dentistry that the public takes for granted today.
These advancements are practiced daily by neighborhood dental surgeons. We are all heroes.
We formed a blue-ribbon committee of past world dental leaders to select those we are honoring and the sites at which we can best honor them. Thanks to the French Dental Society, we established our permanent venue at their Paris Headquarters. Our second site is , fittingly, at the Samuel D. Harris National Museum of Dentistry on the campus of the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery in Maryland.
Those individuals chosen for the Hall of Fame reflect a variety of disciplines that have influenced our lives - Drs. Burkhart, Wells, Black, Hillenbrand, Hinman, Hayden, Harris, Hollenback, Ward, Pankey, Godon, and Willmott.
The formal dedication of the U.S. venue at the National Museum of Dentistry in Baltimore will take place in October of 1997. Wall plaques honoring these dental greats have been placed there for the interested public to appreciate their contributions.
How right it is for our International Honor Society to reach back into our past and give proper homage to those who have shaped our lives today.
Presented: October 17th, 1997 at the formal dedication of the Academy's Hall of Fame in Baltimore Maryland, at the Dr. Samuel D. Harris National Museum of Dentistry. |
