Iowa dean new head of UIC College of Dentistry
Clark Stanford, associate dean for research and professor of prosthodontics at the University of Iowa College of Dentistry, has been named dean of the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry. His appointment, which is subject to approval by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees, is effective Oct. 1.
Dr. Clark M. Stanford
Stanford succeeds Bruce Graham, who stepped down after 13 distinguished years as dean to return to the faculty. UIC Chancellor Paula Allen-Meares said Graham “played an integral role in keeping UIC among the nation’s leading dental institutions,” and that she believes Stanford “will carry on the college’s outstanding tradition.”
“Dr. Stanford’s administrative career has focused on building the basic, clinical and translational research capacity of his college, while integrating the work of researchers and clinicians from multiple disciplines,” Allen-Meares said. “He built biostatistical and infrastructure support for researchers and led the renovation of his college’s research space using design that encourages collaboration.”
“Clark Stanford is a star hire,” said Lon Kaufman, UIC vice chancellor for academic affairs and provost. “His illustrious career as a clinician-scientist and faculty administrator has prepared him perfectly to lead one of the best colleges of dentistry in the country.
“I am very excited about the potential he brings to UIC.”
A native of Northbrook, Illinois, Stanford arrived at the Iowa City campus as an undergraduate in 1979 and never left. He received a bachelor’s of science degree in 1984, a doctor of dental science degree in 1987, and a certificate in prosthodontics and Ph.D. in cell biology in 1992. He joined Iowa’s faculty that same year.
An accomplished researcher whose work has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, private foundations and industry, Stanford focuses his laboratory studies on osteoblastic gene expression and signaling pathways. He is the author of 18 book chapters, 111 published papers and more than 140 research abstracts.
At Iowa, where he was the Centennial Fund Professor for Clinical Research in the Dows Institute for Dental Research, Stanford managed the Office for Clinical Research and the outpatient Craniofacial Clinical Research Center in the dental college. He held secondary appointments in orthopedic surgery and rehabilitation and in biomedical engineering, as well as in the college of nursing. He served on the management committee for the Institute for Clinical and Translational Sciences at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.
Stanford said he was drawn to UIC by the strength of the faculty, students and staff.
“The UIC College of Dentistry has a long and proud history of education, research and service vital to improving the oral health of the citizens of Illinois” and benefiting dental patients around the world, he said.
“The college and university leadership has been extremely supportive in these challenging times, and through strategic planning have placed the college in an excellent position with wonderful personnel, wonderful new facilities, and an exciting and novel oral health curriculum.”
Stanford currently serves on several national and international committees, including the International Association for Dental Research, the National Institutes of Health, the Academy of Prosthodontics and the Academy of Osseointegration.
He is a past member of the board of the American College of Prosthodontists, and is chairman of the Scientific Advisory Council of the National Foundation for Ectodermal Dysplasias. He is a member of the American and International Associations for Dental Research, the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research, the American Dental Association, the American Society for Cell Biology, and the Orthopaedic Research Society. He is a fellow of the Academy of Prosthodontics and the International Team for Oral Implantology.
Stanford has won 15 teaching awards, including the 2007 State of Iowa Regents Award for Faculty Excellence and the International Association for Dental Research Distinguished Science Award that same year. He also treats patients for complex rehabilitation, with an emphasis in craniofacial anomalies, in an intramural practice at the college.
