Dr. Robert & Mrs. Bellva Abraham Pledge $50,000 Estate Gift for Orthodontics Scholarships
Photo courtesy of Dr. Robert Abraham
"I have a soft spot in my heart for students today because I can still remember how important financial assistance was during the four years I was studying at Michigan for my dental degree and the two years I was in the orthodontics program there," said Dr. Robert Abraham (DDS 1964, MS 1966).
"It was a tight time, financially, for me and my wife, Bellva, who was a third-grade teacher at the time," he said. "But the financial aid I received from Michigan allowed me to complete my studies and enjoy the career I had."
A private practitioner in Lansing for 35 years, Abraham retired in 2001 and lives in Naples, Florida during the winter and in Oregon the rest of the year not far from other members of his family.
The Abrahams are making a $50,000 gift from their estate that will be used for scholarships for residents in the orthodontics program.
"I have always wanted to give something back to Michigan and the School of Dentistry, especially to residents in the orthodontics program, because the cost of an education today is so much higher than when I was there," he said. "Now it seems most graduates have so much more debt than I had after I graduated."
As he talked about his two years in the orthodontics program, Abraham spoke highly of Dr. Robert Moyers and Dr. James Harris. "Both were very fine people. I respected them a lot and learned much from them."
Abraham worked in Moyers' craniofacial growth and development research laboratory to help pay for some of his expenses. But he also met a colleague who would later become chair of the orthodontics department, Dr. Lysle Johnston.
"During the time we were students and worked in that lab, I got to appreciate Lysle's sharp sense of humor and his great brain," Abraham said. "He had quite an impact on me, even as a student."
Abraham, who was a parttime instructor in the orthodontics department for about two years, said he doesn't return to Ann Arbor as often as he did when he ran his private practice in Lansing.
"I frequently returned for some wonderful continuing education courses and monthly meetings of the Ann Arbor Orthodontic Study Club," he said. "Hopefully, one of these days I will get back to campus."
