Tankersley to Give Commencement Address May 8
Dr. Ron Tankersley, past president of the American Dental Association (ADA), oral and maxillofacial surgeon in Newport News, Virginia and adjunct professor of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the Medical College of Virginia will give the keynote address at the UNC School of Dentistry commencement ceremony on May 8.
The event will be held at 3:00 p.m. at Carmichael Arena on the University campus.
After completing his pre-dental education at the College of William and Mary, Dr. Tankersley received a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree and completed a residency in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the Medical College of Virginia. He established a private practice in 1971 and is senior partner in Hampton Roads Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.
Dr. Tankersley’s academic awards at the Medical College of Virginia included induction into Sigma Zeta and Omicron Kappa Upsilon. He also received two A.D. Williams Scholarship Awards for highest academic achievement. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (ABOMS), served as an ABOMS examiner for six years, and is a Fellow of the American Dental Society of Anesthesia.
Dr. Tankersley’s experience with organized dentistry includes serving as president of the Peninsula Dental Society, the Virginia Dental Association, the Virginia Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons and the Southeastern Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Prior to being elected ADA President-Elect, he represented the 16th District on the ADA Board of Trustees. He is Past Chairman of the ADA Council on Dental Benefit Programs, the ADA’s Strategic Planning Committee, the ADA’s Committee on Diversity, and the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS) Committee on Membership. He has been District Caucus Chairman for both the ADA and AAOMS House of Delegates and a member of the AAOMS Committee on Governmental Affairs.
Dr. Tankersley’s professional honors include Fellowships in the Virginia Dental Association, the American College of Dentists and the International College of Dentists. He received the Virginia Dental Association’s Presidents Award for distinguished service and two Pierre Fauchard Academy State Awards of Recognition. He is also the recipient of Medical College of Virginia’s Dr. Harry Lyons Outstanding Dental Alumnus Award.
