November 5, 2007

UW SCHOOL OF DENTISTRY ANNOUNCES TWO 2007 DAVID H. WANDS FELLOWS IN GRADUATE PROSTHODONTICS

SEATTLE, WA — The University of Washington School of Dentistry is pleased to announce the choice of Jennifer Emerson and Madelyn Fletcher Stark as the 2007 David H. Wands Fellows in Graduate Prosthodontics. This year’s decision was unique because of the committee’s decision to bestow the award on two applicants, rather than choosing one over the other, as in previous years.

Wands, DDS, MSD, and a former UW School of Dentistry faculty member in the Department of Prosthodontics, established a $500,000 David H. Wands Endowment Fellowship in Graduate Prosthodontics in appreciation of his prosthodontics alma mater. The intent of the fellowship is to provide financial support for graduate students enrolled in the UW Graduate Program in Prosthodontics, leading to the award of a Certificate in Prosthodontics and/or a Master of Science in Dentistry. 

“The demand for educators in Prosthodontics is immense,” said Ariel J. Raigrodski DMD, MS, Associate Professor and Director, Graduate Prosthodontics, Department of Restorative Dentistry UW School of Dentistry.  “Consequently, the Wands Fellowship committee determined that it was appropriate and necessary to name both  Dr. Emerson and Dr. Fletcher as 2007 Wands Fellows, with a full $10,000 award for each, in hopes of making a more substantial impact on the future of dental education and on the lives of our graduate students with Dr. Wands’ generous gift.”

Emerson, a Seattle native, attended Mount Rainier High School where she completed the International Baccalaureate Diploma program earning a BS in chemistry at Yale University.  She graduated in 2002 with awards in "Governance & Service" and "Hospital Dentistry" from the University of Washington School of Dentistry.  In 2003 she earned a certificate in General Practice Residency (GPR), and spent three years on faculty in Hospital Dentistry at UW. 

Fletcher, grew up on a farm in Chehalis, Washington.  She attended Walla Walla University, and graduated in 2000 from Loma Linda University School of Dentistry.  After two years of full-time teaching at Loma Linda University, she joined her father’s practice in Tumwater, Washington, before becoming a resident in Graduate Prosthodontics at the UW School of Dentistry.

Only two other fellowships have been awarded since it was first established.  Michael Waliszewski, who earned his Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) from Marquette University and an MS in Prosthodontics in 2005, returned to Milwaukee to join his father, Dr. Kenneth J. Waliszewski, in private practice.  Kyle Schmidt, an Everett native, attended Seattle University where he received a BS in Biochemistry and earned his Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) degree from Loma Linda University.

Wands graduated with honors from Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, University of Maryland, and served for seven years with the U.S. Public Health Service.  He returned to the University of Washington as a part-time faculty member shortly thereafter and taught both undergraduate and graduate Prosthodontics for twenty years, achieving the rank of Clinical Professor.  In 1980 Dr. Wands established a private practice serving the dental needs of the Olympia residents in fixed and removable Prosthodontics.