Vann Wins American Dental Association Golden Apple Award

Faculty member Dr. William F. Vann, Jr. has been named the recipient of the American Dental Association (ADA) Golden Apple Award for Inspiring Careers in Dental Education. The Golden Apple, which is awarded by the ADA Council on Dental Education and Licensure, will be presented by Council Chair Dr. Ron Venezie this fall.

“It gives me great pleasure, both professionally and personally, to bestow this honor on Dr. Vann,” said Venezie. “It was obvious to the Council that his students and colleagues admire him greatly by the comments in his nomination form. His contributions to the professional development and career success of his mentees will be a lasting legacy for the dental profession.”

Recipients of the Golden Apple Award for Inspiring Careers in Dental Education are regarded as outstanding mentors to students and enhance the development of hopeful or upcoming dental faculty members. Awardees are committed to the scholarly, professional and personal development of their mentees, and have a demonstrated commitment to developing each mentee’s ability to be successful as a dental educator.

“Good students, whether D.D.S. students or residents, help make good mentors, and I’ve been blessed to work with many great ones,” said Vann. “One of my favorite passions is working one-to-one or with small groups of students on their projects, especially their research projects. In large measure, my academic career has been energized and inspired by several dozen extraordinarily talented, highly-motivated and doggedly persistent students with whom I’ve been fortunate to serve as a faculty collaborator.”

The letters of support received along with Vann’s nomination regarded him as “a truly outstanding mentor with a track record of successes that is enviable.” Some of those who regard Vann as a mentor in their professional development credited him with creating personalized programs to best develop his mentees. One former mentee also wrote that “no one has had more of an influence over [their] professional career than Dr. Vann.”

Vann will accept the award at the ADA Annual Session, this year being held in New Orleans October 31 – November 3.