Awards, Faculty and Staff

Swift Named Thomas P. Hinman Distinguished Professor 

Edward Swift, Jr., DMD, MS, vice dean for education at the UNC Adams School of Dentistry, has been named the Thomas P. Hinman Distinguished Professor in Restorative Dentistry. Swift is the third faculty member to hold this professorship. 

The professorship was established in the spring of 2014 and was first awarded to Harald Heymann, a longtime faculty member and former chair of the Department of Operative Dentistry.  

Swift received his degree from the Medical University of South Carolina and his master’s degree in operative dentistry from the University of Iowa. He practiced general dentistry in South Carolina for several years, and taught at the University of Mississippi and the University of Iowa. 

He was recognized with the Academy of Operative Dentistry’s 2018 George M. Hollenback Memorial Prize for his many years in education and his strong leadership of many outstanding clinicians in the field of operative dentistry. 

He is a member of the American Dental Association, the Academy of Operative Dentistry, and the International Association for Dental Research. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Esthetic Dentistry and the Academy of Dental Materials. He was a founding member and past president of the Society for Color and Appearance in Dentistry. 

Swift has also served on the Dentsply Corporate Education Advisory Board and the 3M Scientific Dentistry Board. He serves on the editorial boards of the “Journal of Esthetic and Restorative Dentistry,” “Operative Dentistry,” and the “American Journal of Dentistry,” and he has published more than 200 journal articles. Swift is a co-editor of a leading dental textbook, “Sturdevant’s Art and Science of Operative Dentistry.” 

The Hinman Professorship is the latest addition to the long-standing support that the school has received from the Hinman Dental Society. The society earlier established the Thomas P. Hinman Continuing Education Scholarship Fund and sponsored the Thomas P. Hinman Distinguished Lecture for several years. The Hinman Lecture included notable speakers such as Drs. Frank Spear, John Kois, Gordon Christensen and others. In sum, the Hinman Dental Society has contributed more than $600,000 to the school.