Dr. Rebecca L. Slayton has been named Law/Lewis Endowed Professor of Pediatric Dentistry at the School of Dentistry, pending formal approval by the UW Board of Regents.
Dr. Slayton, who is Chair of the Department of Pediatric Dentistry at the UW, will be responsible for organizing an annual program of presentations on pediatric oral health. The professorship, originally established as a lectureship in 1992, honors the memory of Dr. David Law and Dr. Thompson Lewis, two outstanding pediatric dental educators at the UW.
“It is an incredible honor to be the recipient of this professorship,” Dr. Slayton said. “It symbolizes the rich history of leadership and scholarly activity in the Department of Pediatric Dentistry, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to continue this tradition.”
Dr. Slayton, who was Professor and Chair of the Department of Pediatric Dentistry at Iowa before taking up her current post in March 2013, was at the UW from 2004 to 2008 as Associate Professor and Graduate Program Director in the Department of Pediatric Dentistry. She served as Chair of the School’s Faculty Council and on numerous committees, and was also Interim Clinical Director of the Department of Dental Medicine at Seattle Children’s hospital from 2007 to 2008. From 2002 to 2004, she was Chair of Pediatric Dentistry at Oregon Health & Science University.
Dr. Slayton holds a BA in biology from Earlham College and an MS in engineering, a DDS, a certificate in pediatric dentistry and a PhD in genetics, all from the University of Iowa. Her current appointments include consultant to the American Dental Association’s Commission on Dental Accreditation and ad hoc reviewer for several leading dental journals.
“I can’t imagine a more worthy recipient of this honor than Rebecca Slayton,” said Dr. Joel Berg, Dean of the School of Dentistry. “She is an outstanding educator with superb clinical and research credentials, and I know that she will bring great distinction to the professorship.”
UW faculty, students, and friends created the lectureship to honor decades of outstanding contributions to pediatric dentistry, clinical research and private practice by Drs. Lewis and Law. The goal was to enhance the profession of pediatric dentistry by setting up a forum, directed at family dentists, to present current clinical techniques, research and product developments.
Dr. David Law (left) and Dr. Thompson Lewis, circa 1960