Ann Arbor, MI — October 7, 2009 — School of Dentistry alumnus Dr. Raymond Gist (DDS 1966) has been elected president-elect of the American Dental Association during the organization’s Annual Session in Honolulu. Gist, who practices general dentistry in Flint, is the first African-American to be elected to the top leadership position of the nation’s largest dental association that represents approximately 156,000 members.

When he begins his one-year term on October 13, 2010, Gist will become the first U-M School of Dentistry graduate to serve as ADA president in more than 40 years. The late Dr. Floyd Ostrander served a one-year term from 1967 to 1968. Gist, who has represented Michigan and Wisconsin on the ADA’s Board of Trustees as a member of the Ninth District since 2005, was president of the Michigan Dental Association from 2003-2004. He is also a Fellow of the American College of Dentists, the International College of Dentists, and the Pierre Fauchard Academy.

During his quest for the ADA presidency, Gist’s campaign themes included addressing access to care, intensifying the ADA’s advocacy efforts with legislators and the public, and promoting diversity within the profession. “While the challenges are many, I truly believe that, collectively, dental professionals will be a positive force in shaping the future of the profession,” Gist said.

The Road to Dentistry

In a story about Gist that appeared in the School of Dentistry’s alumni magazine, DentalUM, in early 2003, Gist said he learned the importance of hard work from his parents. His father, Isaac, was a janitor at General Motors; his mother, Vesta, was a maid. “They were hard workers, and I learned from their example,” he said. Gist said praise he received from his fifth grade teacher at Fairview Elementary School in Flint, Mrs. Odell Broadway, prompted him to seriously consider becoming a physician or dentist. [read more: gist-dentalum-2003.pdf]

[[[[NOTE: I asked Chris Jung for PDF of this feature to include.]]]

Reflecting on his dental education at Michigan, Gist said he remembered the support and encouragement he received from endodontics instructor, Dr. John Dowson. “It seemed he was always at my chair pushing me to do more,” Gist said. “He told me I could do it. And when I first heard him say that, it brought back memories of what Mrs. Broadway said to me when I was in elementary school.”

Gist, who was keynote speaker at the School of Dentistry’s White Coat Ceremony in the fall of 2003, challenged first-year dental students to put their special talents to work during their four years of study at U-M and throughout their professional career. [read more: gist-white-coat-fall-2003.pdf]

[[[NOTE: I asked Chris for a PDF of this feature to also include.]]]

Gist will become the first member of the Michigan Dental Association to assume the ADA’s top position in more than 40 years. His campaign for the ADA presidency was led by Dr. Josef Kolling, an adjunct clinical associate professor of dentistry in the School’s Department of Prosthodontics, who was MDA president from 2005-2006.

Contact: Sharon Grayden, Communications Director (734) 615-2600, dentistry.communications@umich.edu, or Jerry Mastey, Editor, School of Dentistry (734) 615-1971, jmastey@umich.edu.