Fonds UAA Fonds 0042 - Faculty of Dentistry fonds

First formed in 1917 as a school within the Faculty of Medicine, the University of Alberta's (U of A) dental program became an autonomous degree- granting school in 1923, and achieved faculty status in 1944. From the years 1944 to 1958, U of A had the only dental school in Western Canada.
The Faculty of Dentistry trained dentists and dental hygienists for employment in private and public health care centres, as well as providing graduate studies programs leading to a MSc or PhD, and facilities for research. Students were given instruction and work experience at the University of Alberta Hospitals and at the Faculty's community health clinics. Within the Faculty were four departments (Dental Health Care, Oral Biology, Restorative Dentistry and Stomatology), each of which administers additional divisions. In 1996, the Faculty of Dentistry became part of the Faculty of Medicine becoming the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry.

Directors of the School of Dentistry included: 1923-1942 Harry Ernest Bulyea; 1942-1944 William Scott Hamilton.
Deans of the Faculty of Dentistry included: 1944-1958 William Scott Hamilton; 1958-1970 Hector Robertson MacLean; 1970-1976 James McCutcheon; 1976-1978 Donald M. Collinson; 1978-1989 Gordon W. Thompson; 1989- Norman K. Wood; 1994 Dr. Henry Dick (Acting); 1995- Dr. G. Wayne Raborn (Acting).

Dentist, Administrator, 1873-1976. Dr. Bulyea came to the University for the 1919/20 session to teach dentistry in the Faculty of Medicine. He was appointed Director of the Department of Dentistry in 1924 and of the School of Dentistry in 1930, retiring in 1942. He was a founding member of the Edmonton Art Club, a photographer and an enthusiastic mountaineer.

W. Scott Hamilton studied dentistry at the University of Alberta in 1920-1921 and went on to teach at his alma mater. Hamilton was the Director of the School of Dentistry in 1942-1944 and he was the first Dean of the Faculty of Dentistry in 1944-1958.

The Dr. W. Scott Hamilton Scholarship, awarded to students studying oral surgery at the U of A, is named in his memory.

Dean of Dentistry at the University of Alberta.

Dr. Donald Maurice Collinson was born in Nelson, British Columbia. He was the son of Edith and Ernest Collison. Collinson attended the University of Alberta (U of A) and graduated from the Faculty of Dentistry in 1958.

He maintained a private dental practice before becoming an academic staff member at the U of A as a Professor of Dentistry. Collinson began the Fund for Dentistry and “Open Wide” a one day free community dentistry clinic. Throughout his career he received various awards and was a part of various committees and organizations. Collinson also had one of the first clinics in Alberta which specialized in endodontics. He retired from the U of A and moved to Canmore, Alberta.

Collinson was married to Mary and had three children, Karen, Christine, and Bentia. He passed away on September 11, 2010 in Calgary, Alberta.

Dentist, Administrator, 1904-1988. An alumnus of the Universityþs Faculty of Dentistry, H.R. MacLean rejoined the University in 1935 as demonstrator in operative dentistry. In 1938 he became head of the Department of Operative Dentistry, in 1946 professor of restorative dentistry, and in 1948 head of the Oral Diagnosis Section. He left his private practice in 1958 in order to act as Dean of the Faculty, a position he held until 1970. Active in several local and national dental associations, Dr. MacLean published A History of Dentistry in Alberta, 1880-1980, in 1987.