.JPG)
Dr. Caswell Evans, Associate Dean for Prevention and Public Health Sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry, has been selected as the 2007 William Thomas Green Morton Laureate and will therefore receive the William Thomas Green Morton National Award for the Advancement of General Dentistry.
The Morton Award is presented annually by the Maryland Academy of General Dentistry to an individual, organization, or corporation “who through clinical accomplishment, education development, basic or applied research, invention, or visionary leadership, made a most monumental contribution to the advancement of the field of general dentistry.”
“Factored in that contribution is an underlying dedication toward the improvement of people’s health,” said Dr. Laurence J. Fields, Chair of the Morton Select Committee.
“Being recognized by one’s professional peers is cherished,” Dr. Evans said. “I am honored to be singled out. It is somewhat overwhelming to be considered among the group of previous Morton Laureates. The group is quite prestigious and includes people who have had a significant influence on oral health and the profession of dentistry. I hope that what light I shed on the path can be used by others, particularly students, to move further and beyond my limits. After all, such accomplishments are most beneficial when they illuminate direction leading to further advancement.”
“This award appropriately recognizes Dr. Evans’ remarkable contribution as Editor of the Surgeon General’s Report on Oral Health in America seven years ago,” said Dean Bruce Graham. “The Report informed the public about ‘a silent epidemic of oral disease in America’ and compelled the dental profession, government agencies, and philanthropic foundations to respond. For instance, the American Dental Association now points to oral health access disparities as the most pressing challenge to the profession. And the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation/California Endowment ‘Pipeline and Practice: Community- Based Dental Education’ grant program was also a national response to the Report. In my opinion, Caswell’s compelling editorial style in the Report and his determined efforts over the subsequent four years to publicize it and to stimulate a National Call to Action in response was an accomplishment of truly heroic proportions.”
Dr. Morton was the developer of the application of ether as an anesthetic.
Dr. Evans will receive his award on March 16. He had been nominated by Dr. Leslie Grant, President of the National Dental Association.