# Arthur A. Dugoni

Arthur A. Dugoni (June 29, 1925 – September 23, 2020) was the former dean of the Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry at the University of the Pacific and held leadership positions in dentistry and dental education.
Dugoni served as president of the California Dental Association, the American Dental Association, the American Dental Education Association, and the American Board of Orthodontics. He presented lectures, papers, and clinics, and published more than 175 articles about dentistry.
Dugoni advocated for a humanistic approach to dentistry. He also worked to address the cost of dental education and led dental licensure reform.

## Early life and education

Dugoni grew up in San Francisco as one of three children of Arthur B. and Lina Dugoni, who were immigrants from Italy. In a 2011 interview published in Inside Dentistry, he recalled that his extended family lived nearby and gathered every Sunday to eat, tell stories, and sing operas.
He graduated as valedictorian from St. James High School in San Francisco, and began college at the age of 17 at the University of San Francisco before transferring to Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington where he met his wife, Katherine Groo. Dugoni graduated as valedictorian from Gonzaga in 1944.

## Career

Encouraged by his family dentist, Dugoni enrolled in dental school at the University of Missouri–Kansas City before completing his D.D.S. degree at the College of Physicians and Surgeons in San Francisco, which would later be named in his honor. In 1948, Dugoni delivered the valedictory address to his fellow graduates.
After launching a clinical practice, Dugoni returned to the dental school in 1951 as an assistant professor of operative dentistry. He held faculty positions, including professor and chair of the Department of Orthodontics. In 1963, he completed his M.S.D. degree in Orthodontics at the University of Washington and pioneered the primary and mixed dentition orthodontic clinic at the University of the Pacific. Dugoni maintained a private orthodontic practice in South San Francisco until 1987.
In 1978, he was appointed dean of the School of Dentistry at the University of the Pacific.
On August 28, 2004, the University honored Dugoni by renaming the school as the Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry. Some 1,600 guests attended the ceremony, including 22 deans of U.S. dental schools as well as Richard W. Valachovic, executive director of the American Dental Education Association.
Dugoni stepped down as dean in 2006 but remained involved with the school and the university as dean emeritus, professor of orthodontics, and senior executive for development.

## Leadership, honors and awards

Dugoni served as president of the American Dental Association (1988-1989), American Dental Association Foundation, American Association of Dental Schools, and California Dental Association, and as treasurer of the Fédération Dentaire Internationale (FDI World Dental Federation).
Among his honors, Dugoni was elected in 1998 to the FDI World Dental Federation List of Honour. In 2001, he received the William John Gies Award from the American College of Dentists. The California Dental Association recognized him with its Dale F. Redig Distinguished Service Award in 2003. In 2009, the ADEAGies Foundation honored him with its Award for Outstanding Achievement - Dental Educator. He received honorary doctoral degrees from the University of Detroit, University of Louisville, and Louisiana State University.
Dugoni was a fellow of the American and International College of Dentists and the Academy of Dentistry International, a member of the Pierre Fauchard Academy, and a founding member of the National Academies of Practice. He was an honorary member and fellow of the Academy of General Dentistry and an honorary member of the American Academy of Oral Medicine.

## Personal life

Dugoni and his wife, Katherine, had seven children, fifteen grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren.
Dugoni died on September 23, 2020.