The University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine has announced a $5 million gift from alumnus Garry Rayant (GD '77) and his wife, Kathy Fields, to endow a professorship and establish a Center for Integrative Global Oral Health.

The Fields-Rayant Professorship will support the recruitment of a leader who can work with faculty, develop curricula, and leverage partnerships in support of the center's launch. The center's goals include the development of curricula for DMD and master's-level education in areas such as oral disease prevention, the social-behavioral and commercial determinants of oral health, and the integration of oral health as part of overall health; health policy and health systems research; and advancing conversations in these areas with educators, practitioners, and policy makers.

A specialist in periodontics and implant dentistry  and co-founder of Dear Doctor Magazine Inc., Rayant retired from clinical practice in 2018 and serves on the boards of advisors of Penn's School of Dental Medicine and Advanced Judaic Studies Program.

"[T]he center will evaluate the interaction between oral health and general health throughout the lifespan and consider advances in science, healthcare integration, and social influences to articulate promising new directions for improving oral health and oral health equity across communities," said Rayant. "The impact of one of the oldest and most highly regarded dental schools in the United States taking on this work will be profound; we are excited to be part of it and for the many affiliated faculties that Penn uniquely brings to bear."

(Photo credit: Penn Dental Medicine)