Marquette's dentistry dean, currently the longest-serving in the country, to retire later this year
William Lobb, the longtime dean of Marquette University School of Dentistry, will retire this school year after nearly 30 years of leading the state's only dental school, officials announced Tuesday.
Lobb, 70, arrived at Marquette in 1994 and is currently the longest-serving dental school dean in the country, according to a Marquette announcement. His last day will be June 30.
"It has been a fulfilling career, and I’m most proud that Marquette — together with all our partners — helped transform dental education for our country," he said in a statement.
Under Lobb's leadership, the school moved into a cutting-edge building in 2002 that sparked visits from every dental school in the nation, the university said. Other schools wanted to learn more about Marquette's dental curriculum, which includes early clinical experiences and an emphasis on public health and statewide community-based clinical partnerships.
A fundraising campaign led by Lobb allowed the school to increase its facility footprint again in 2013. The building expansion added more clinical, lab and classroom space and increased class sizes to 100 students for an annual enrollment of 400 students. Half of each class are Wisconsin residents.
Another accomplishment came in 2017 when the school received a $5 million estate gift, the largest in the school's history, that will provide scholarships for veterans and their families.
Lobb grew up in rural Canada, a background that sparked his interest in expanding the school's reach to rural areas of the state through affiliated clinical rotations. The school has also provided significant service to underserved urban populations, including dental Medicaid patients.
President Michael Lovell called Lobb a "visionary, steady leader" who made "exemplary" contributions to dental education and the dental profession as a whole.
The university will launch a national search for its next dental school dean in the next few weeks, Marquette spokesperson Kevin Conway said. A timeline for when the new dean may be named wasn't available Tuesday.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Marquette University School of Dentistry dean William Lobb to retire
