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Release: Oct. 24, 2000

Garland Hershey named UI Dental Alumnus of the Year

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- The University of Iowa Dental Alumni Association has named H. Garland Hershey Jr., D.D.S., professor of orthodontics and health policy and administration at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the UI College of Dentistry Alumnus of the Year.

The annual award honors UI dental graduates for their contributions to dentistry and other achievements. The alumni group selected Hershey for this year’s honor based on his accomplished record as a dental educator, practitioner and university administrator. Hershey will be recognized at the annual meeting of the UI Dental Alumni Association on Oct. 27.

Hershey was born and raised in Iowa City, Iowa. He received his undergraduate degree from Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa, and in 1965 earned a dental degree at the UI College of Dentistry. He completed three years of dental service with the U.S. Army before returning to the UI for specialty training in orthodontics.

Though he had not planned to pursue an academic career, Hershey took a faculty position at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1971. Encouragement from students helped persuade him to continue teaching, and in 1975 he was named associate dean and director of graduate education for the UNC dental school, positions he held for nine years.

In 1983, Hershey was named UNC vice chancellor for health affairs, overseeing the university’s hospital and schools of medicine, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy and public health. At the time, he was the only dentist in the nation to hold such a position. He remained in the job for 14 years, much longer than the four-year average for heads of academic health centers. During this time he also served as vice provost and interim provost.

In 1998, Hershey returned to a full-time faculty role, continuing to serve as a consultant to the chancellor on health affairs. Over the course of his career, he has held dozens of professional memberships and committee positions, helping to shape policy at the university, state and national levels. He has received many awards for his work and has published numerous papers on clinical orthodontics and higher education topics