Delta Dental of Virginia Foundation creates $500,000 endowed scholarship
The VCU School of Dentistry has been awarded a $500,000 grant from the Delta Dental of Virginia Foundation to create a new endowed scholarship.
The grant is part of $1.1 million in grants the Delta Dental of Virginia Foundation awarded to 36 oral health organizations in Virginia. At VCU, the Delta Dental of Virginia Foundation Endowed Scholarship will provide financial support to students who hope to practice in chronically underserved areas of the commonwealth after earning their degrees. The grant will be spread over the course of four years.
Inaugural scholarships will be awarded in 2013, and the scholarship will be fully endowed by 2015.
David C. Sarrett, D.M.D., dean of the VCU School of Dentistry, said dental students at VCU and across the country amass more debt than ever before to pursue their chosen profession.
“Through the generosity of the Delta Dental of Virginia Foundation, more students will have less of a financial burden and can choose to practice dentistry in areas that truly need dentists,” said Sarrett.
Opportunity VCU, led by the VCU and MCV Alumni Associations, set a goal of raising $50 million for merit-based student scholarships. The grant from the Delta Dental of Virginia Foundation will help to keep Opportunity VCU’s goal clearly in sight.
The grants awarded by the Delta Dental of Virginia Foundation are the first of their kind for the organization. Funds will support programs that strive to improve oral health through education, research and access to care for the underserved.
“We are proud to present our inaugural grants to an impressive list of Virginia-based organizations that are having a positive impact on oral health care and quality of life throughout our state,” said George A. Levicki, D.D.S., president and CEO, Delta Dental of Virginia.
About Delta Dental of Virginia Foundation
Delta Dental of Virginia Foundation was founded by Delta Dental of Virginia to help improve the oral health and, subsequently, overall body health of the people of the Commonwealth. The Foundation focuses its support on initiatives that improve oral health with sustainable solutions through improved access to oral care, oral health education or oral health research. For more information, visit deltadentalva.com/ddvafoundation.aspx.
About VCU and the VCU Medical Center
Virginia Commonwealth University is a major, urban public research university with national and international rankings in sponsored research. Located in downtown Richmond, VCU enrolls more than 31,000 students in 222 degree and certificate programs in the arts, sciences and humanities. Sixty-six of the programs are unique in Virginia, many of them crossing the disciplines of VCU’s 13 schools and one college. MCV Hospitals and the health sciences schools of Virginia Commonwealth University compose the VCU Medical Center, one of the nation’s leading academic medical centers. For more, see www.vcu.edu.
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