Ronnie Myers, DDS, Named Interim Dean of College of Dental Medicine

Dear fellow members of the Columbia community:

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Ronnie Myers, DDS, as the interim dean of the College of Dental Medicine while a national search for a new dean proceeds.  As we wrote in March, Dr. Ira B. Lamster is stepping down as dean and senior vice president of the Columbia University Medical Center after leading the College of Dental Medicine for a decade.

Dr. Myers brings a wealth of academic, clinical and administrative experience, as well as a deep familiarity with the Columbia University Medical Center, to his new responsibilities.  He was appointed Assistant Dean for Clinical Affairs at the College of Dental Medicine in 1991 and was named Associate Dean in 2001. He became Vice Dean for Administrative Affairs in 2011 and maintains an active practice in general dentistry.  Dr. Myers has been a consultant to the Commission on Dental Accreditation and is currently Vice Chair of the New York State Board of Dentistry.  He also is past chair of the American Dental Education Association Section on Clinic Administration. Dr. Meyers frequently lectures on clinical infection control and the relationship between systemic disease and oral health.

Dr. Myers trained here as a pediatric dentist at the College of Dental Medicine, completed a fellowship at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and was in private practice before joining the full-time Columbia faculty in 1982 as director of the General Practice Residency Program at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. While director, he initiated a screening program for pre-cardiac transplant patients and formed an affiliation with Memorial Sloan-Kettering to develop a two-year oncology program for dental residents.

We once again want to recognize and thank Dr. Lamster for his decade of exemplary leadership of the College of Dental Medicine, a period during which the school established many new research, clinical, and educational programs. We look forward to his continued role as a member of the Columbia University Medical Center faculty.

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Myers to his new position and thanking Dr. Lamster for his exceptional service to the University.

Sincerely,

Lee C. Bollinger