We can do this through a clinical research program, but we also have to see more integration of the basic sciences with clinical practice. Our students will be prepared to take care of those who will make up the majority of their practices. Dr. Lonette Phipps holds the distinction of being the graduate of two academic institutions once slated for closure. She graduated from the UMC dental school in 1992, but holds an undergraduate degree from Mississippi Valley State University. She's proud of both.
People underestimate the small universities like Valley.
It gave me the background to do what I wanted to do. After graduating from Valley, Phipps worked in the dental school as a research associate before she decided she wanted to be a dental student. Phipps graduated with awards in oral radiology, periodontology, and prosthodontics and received the William S. Kramer Award of Excellence, the Robert Allen May Memorial Scholarship, the American Association of Women Dentists Award, the Trustmark National Bank Award and named for membership in the dental honor society and Phi Kappa Phi. Phipps and UMC dental school classmate Dan Givan are at the University of Alabama School of Dentistry in the new, highly competitive dentist-scientist training program funded with grants from the National Institutes of Health. In the five-year postgraduate program, Phipps will earn a Ph.D. as well as specialty certification in prosthodontics.