People Watching

New Program Director at Ohio State

Michele P. Carr, RDH, MA, is the new program director, Dental Hygiene, Section of Primary Care, College of Dentistry, at The Ohio State University (OSU) in Columbus. She is also associate professor in this department and served previously as the interim program director. Beginning her position in August, Carr is responsible for the leadership and administration of the bachelor degree and the bachelor degree completion programs. She works with other sections in the College of Dentistry to ensure that dental hygiene students are integrated within the college. Curriculum development and revision; supervising the clinics; faculty and staff evaluation and hiring; budget supervision; and program assessment and planning to ensure compliance with accreditation standards are all part of her position as program director. Carr is a former winner of the American Dental Education Association/Warner Lambert Clinical Research Fellowship. She twice received OSU’s Outstanding Instructor Award in both 1999 and 2003. Carr co-authored a feature on ultrasonics in the May 2004 issue of Dimensions of Dental Hygiene, which can be viewed in our archives at www.dimensionsofdentalhygiene.com.

Two Hygienists Receive Crest/ADHA Award

Debbie Duerr, RDH, West Allis, Wis, and Katherine Currin Vriesema, RDH, Salisbury, NC, received the Crest/American Dental Hygienists’ Association (ADHA) Award for Clinical Hygienists. The winners receive $2,000 and complimentary trips to Procter & Gamble-the makers of Crest® toothpaste and other oral health care products-in Cincinnati, ADHA headquarters in Chicago, and the organization’s annual meeting. The awards are given to practicing dental hygienists who make a difference in their patients’ lives. Duerr practices at the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin, providing preventive care and dental hygiene education to patients living with HIV. A graduate of Milwaukee Area Technical College, she also is an active volunteer in her community. Vriesema is employed by North Carolina Baptist Hospital. Receiving her associate degree in 2001 from Central Piedmont Community College, she is currently in the degree completion program at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

100% of Temple College Grads Pass National Boards

The class of 2004 in the Dental Hygiene program at Temple College, Temple, Tex, recently earned a 100% pass rate on the National Board Examination. The program, which opened in 1995, boasts a 100% passing rate for all seven of its graduating classes. Headed by Norma Maedgen, RDH, PhD, the dental hygiene program recently moved into brand new facilities with 12 new clinics. The graduating class includes: April Beechem, Cary Bryant, Melissa Drennon, Anthony Gazette, Kimberly Hawkins, Cheyenne Kizer, Michelle Lombard, Jesenika Lopez, Mihra Medic, Melanie Rasco, Barbara Shelton, and Stephanie Shelton.