Ed, The dental school at the Medical Center started in 1962. It was just so very big for a country boy like me to take in. The days were long, the studies difficult, but the staff was very special. As students I don't think we really knew how fortunate we were to be taught by the level of instructors brought together in that one building. Many have gone on to be highly recognized in the academic world.

I will never forget seeing Mr. Chandler walking through the dental school and often asking where you were from and how you were doing. He discovered I was from Adair County and never let me forget that he knew Grover Gilpin. I do know that he was very proud to have his name associated with the center. Those four years shaped my life in many ways besides dentistry, and I can never repay the school or the leaders who made it possible for the opportunity that it afforded me. --Roger D Smith DMD