UW School of Dentistry alum Dr. Robin Reinke (‘90) has committed a $250,000 gift to the School to establish an endowed scholarship fund for students with diverse experiential backgrounds who plan to practice general dentistry.
“[My family] is particularly passionate about supporting students who often face additional barriers in their educational and professional journeys,” said Dr. Reinke in her addendum of the endowment report. “By providing this scholarship, I hope to empower first-generation college graduates and underserved groups to become professionals who can contribute to solving the healthcare crisis in our state. The hope is to help these students achieve their full potential and make a positive impact on their communities.”
The Reinke Endowed Scholarship in Dentistry will provide financial assistance to professional degree students and will include those who meet any of the following criteria:
- First-generation college students
- Students who have experience with economic or educational disadvantage
- Students with a demonstrated commitment to, or interest in, supporting the healthcare needs of underserved communities
Dr. Reinke’s decision to establish the scholarship comes from her own personal dental journey. She knew from a young age that she wanted to pursue a career in healthcare, and narrowed in on dentistry during high school. Growing up in Tacoma, where her father, Earl, was a police officer and her mother, Donna, worked in the city’s budget office, Dr. Reinke described her family as one that came from “humble means”.
However, both of her parents were determined to give their daughters an opportunity to pursue higher education, something they never had. Now, Dr. Reinke’s returning their favor by giving UW School of Dentistry students the same freedom.
When Dr. Reinke joined the UW School of Dentistry Class of 1990, she was one of 10 women in a cohort of 50 students. The majority of faculty at that time were men, and higher education in health sciences was taught in a more unforgiving manner. Now, through years of dedication to change, two-thirds of the Class of 2027 are women and a focus on diversity and humanism in the classroom is as high as it’s ever been.
“I’m grateful to the women who went to dental school before me for paving the way,” said Dr. Reinke. “I’m happy to see the improvement, but there’s still more work to be done. The number of dentists in Washington is still 60% men, but it’s great to see that women feel they have the opportunity to be dentists or any other non-traditional professionals.”
After graduating from dental school, Dr. Reinke went into private practice in Tacoma and Federal Way for 22 years before deciding that she wanted to transition to academia. That led her to the University of Nevada Las Vegas, School of Dental Medicine where she advanced to the rank of Professor-in-Residence and Associate Dean for Clinical Services.
“People think of Las Vegas as a rich city, with the limelight and excitement, but that’s really only on the Strip,” she said. “You go out in the other areas and there’s a large portion of the town that’s poor. There are a lot of rural areas in Nevada itself. Seeing the students at UNLV be able to treat those that were living out in those rural communities was very eye opening for me.”
With a growing attention towards treating the underserved, Dr. Reinke looked back at her home state for opportunities to make a change in Washington’s pastoral regions, which is when the new Pacific Northwest University (PNWU) School of Dental Medicine in Yakima unveiled itself. “I wanted to do what I was doing in Nevada in my home state, so when the job opened up at the PNWU I took the opportunity to move closer to home,” she said.
The PNWU’s dental school, which is planning to start its first classes next year, will train dentists to go out and work in rural areas and community health centers when they graduate. Dr. Reinke wanted to be a part of that initiative.
“Living in Yakima you see how these community health centers really help people,” she said, “so it’s been eye opening to me to see the good that they’re doing and hopefully our students will be able to do that as well.”
Inspired by her experiences, and by the next generation, Dr. Reinke felt that now was the right time to give back to her dental school and make a substantial donation. On top of the $250,000 put towards the endowed scholarship, she donated another $250,000 towards other funding opportunities at the School.
Dr. Reinke hopes that if other alumni see her gift, it will foster the same inspiration in them that she had. “Maybe this will spark others to help provide for the institution that educated them to be able to make a living…the people that will benefit from the scholarships will hopefully see that and continue to give forward.”