Academic Leader Receives The Esther Wilkins Lifetime Achievement Award

Juanita S. Wallace, RDH, PhD, who dedicated 38 years to dental hygiene education, will receive The Esther Wilkins Lifetime Achievement Award at a June 20 reception during the American Dental Hygienists’ Association Annual Session in Las Vegas. Given annually in recognition of outstanding contributions to the dental hygiene profession, the award is presented by Dimensions of Dental Hygiene and sponsored by Colgate. Wallace, who retired in 2013, served as chair of the Department of Dental Hygiene and interim dean of the School of Health Professions at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Her exemplary leadership and mentoring skills inspired many of her students to become dental hygiene educators themselves.

“I was absolutely humbled and flattered to learn that I had received The Esther Wilkins Lifetime Achievement Award,” Wallace tells Dimensions. “Being nominated by my fellow educators in dental hygiene is the highest honor and reinforces my hope that I have made a positive difference in the profession. Dr. Wilkins is the gold standard for dental hygiene. Starting with her second edition textbook, I learned the basic principles of clinical practice—and her further contributions inspired me to be the best educator I could be by advancing clinical teaching.”

The Esther Wilkins Lifetime Achievement Award, named for its inaugural recipient and the matriarch of dental hygiene, Esther M. Wilkins, BS, RDH, DMD, recognizes the career of an individual who has contributed to the enrichment of the profession.

From Dimensions of Dental Hygiene. June 2014;12(6):12.