Fundraising Priorities

The UCLA School of Dentistry will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2014.  Our alumni, faculty, friends and corporate partners have shaped our institution for the past five decades and we invite you to join us in building a financially secure and successful future.  Whatever your interest or passion, the UCLA School of Dentistry has gift opportunities available for everyone at every level.  For more information on giving to the priorities described below or another area of special interest to you, please contact the Dentistry Development Office at (310) 206-6079 or (310) 206-0215.  Thank you for your support, which allows us to remain among the most well-respected dental schools in the world.

The Apollonian Society

Founded by alumni and friends, the Apollonian Society is dedicated to funding initiatives that enhance the dental student experience and uphold the strong reputation of the school.  This annual fundraising campaign supports a White Coat Ceremony for first-year students, a patient care subsidy fund, publication of The Explorer student research journal, the purchase of new state-of-the-art equipment, and events promoting dialogue and camaraderie among students, alumni, faculty and staff.  Each gift to this fund benefits all of our students and represents an investment in the future of the dental profession.  Become a Member today!

Scholarships

Providing scholarship assistance is one of our top priorities.  As state budget cuts deepen and educational expenses rise, scholarships help to relieve student debt, ensuring that the broad array of professional options – including teaching and practice in underserved communities – remains open to all students, and that the school remains competitive among peer institutions.  To support our dental student scholarship initiative, you can create a new endowed or current expenditure scholarship, or contribute to an existing scholarship fund.

Faculty Recruitment and Retention

The school’s most precious resource is its faculty.  It is the faculty that provides course instruction, oversees the development of student competence in clinic, conducts cutting edge research and makes possible a true academic community.  The cumulative impact of the skills, experience and accomplishments of our faculty members has elevated the UCLA School of Dentistry to the top tier of dental schools in the nation, and allows us to attract the best and brightest students. You can support this initiative by establishing an endowed chair or teaching award, providing research funding or making an unrestricted gift toward our academic program.

Community Outreach and Patient Care

Since its founding in 1964, providing excellence in community service and patient care has been a cornerstone of the school’s mission.  We have a long-standing commitment to increasing diversity in dentistry through our pipeline and pathways programs, and to offering affordable, high quality oral health care services.  Each year, our students, residents and faculty members conduct more than 120,000 patient visits at thirty locations across Southern California, including the Westwood clinic, the Wilson-Jennings-Bloomfield UCLA Venice Dental Center, community centers and schools.  Whether your personal interest lies in patient care, oral cancer awareness activities, or pipeline programs, your support of this initiative directly impacts the lives of those in our community.

Read about a patient who is treated at the Hospital Dentistry Clinic and the value that this clinic brings to the community.

Physical Infrastructure Improvements

Our building, located on the eastern end of the Center for Health Sciences, was completed in 1969 and our facilities – including offices, laboratories, clinics and classrooms – have experienced heavy and continuous use.  Though many key capital projects have been successfully completed in recent years, we must continue to plan for the future infrastructure and technology needs of the school’s students, residents, faculty and staff.  These needs range from short-term projects – such as completing a conversion to digital radiography and an electronic records system in the predoctoral clinic – to the more visionary expansion of our research enterprise, and the ability to accommodate large-scale lectures and events.