University of Connecticut Minority Dentist Program Seeks More Funding as Grant Set To Expire
A grant funding a University of Connecticut Health Center program that works to recruit and retain minority dental students is set to expire Aug. 31, and program coordinators are working to find another funding source, the AP/Stamford Advocate reports. The five-year program has been funded through a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant and was part of an effort to improve dental care for minorities by increasing the number of minority dentists, according to the AP/Advocate. In 2002 -- before the program's inception -- about 6% of students accepted into the University of Connecticut's dental program were black, Hispanic or American Indian, compared with 20% last year. Cynthia Hodge, an associate dean at the University of Connecticut Dental School and director of the program, said she believes the health center is committed to maintaining the program after the RWJF grant expires, and she said she would spend the remainder of the school year to solicit other grants. Monty MacNeil, dean of the dental school, said, "The project was created on the premise that this would be a five-year project that was independently funded." MacNeil added that the dentistry school will be able to continue to fulfill the grant program's mission, noting that the school funds another program that encourages minority students to enter the health profession (AP/Stamford Advocate, 1/18).
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