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SUNY Canton Receives State Approval for

Popular Dental Hygiene Program

SUNY Canton has received approval to begin offering an extremely popular and in-demand Dental Hygiene program. The jointly registered program is a collaborative effort with Mohawk Valley Community College, Utica, announced Provost Jeremy Brown.

SUNY Canton professors will teach the clinical and lab portions of the curriculum at the VA facility in the Griffis Technology Complex in Rome. Students will have the option of taking the required general education courses online through SUNY Canton or at MVCC's Rome Campus. Graduates of this two-year program will earn an Associate in Applied Science.

According to SUNY Canton Director of Admissions Jodi Revill, SUNY Canton has already received more than 300 inquiries and almost 50 applications for the fall semester. She anticipates filling the program's limited number of available spaces within the next couple of weeks. "We are asking that prospective students have completed applications to us by May 26," Revill said. "This is one of the most highly anticipated programs we've ever offered, and it will be a very competitive admissions process."

"We are pleased to receive approval for our Dental Hygiene program by both the State University of New York and the State Education Department," Provost Brown said. "The program will compliment our existing two-year curricula in health-related fields such as our Occupational Therapy Assistant, Nursing, and Physical Therapist Assistant programs."

Pamela Quinn will serve as the director for the program. Quinn recently worked as Associate Vice President for Academic Services and Assistant Professor and Department Chairperson for Dental Hygiene at Onondaga Community College. Prior to that Quinn taught a number of dental assisting and dental hygiene courses for Broome Community College in Binghamton. She has over 30 years of clinical experience in the field.

"We already have all of the two-year classes developed, and we have accreditation from the American Dental Association," said Linda Pellett, Dean of the SUNY Canton School of Science, Health, and Professional Studies. "Pam has done a wonderful job organizing the necessary steps for this program. SUNY Canton is also developing a four-year bachelor's degree in Dental Hygiene."

Pellett and Quinn are spearheading the development of online classes for the proposed baccalaureate program so a greater number of students will be able to access the curriculum without relocating or commuting. "There is a great need for this program," said Pellett. "The baccalaureate program will be only the second in the State, so we're hopeful that we will receive that approval as well,"

"We also would like to thank Congressman Sherwood Boehlert from the 24th Congressional District in Central New York for his tremendous assistance and efforts in helping our associate degree program come to fruition," Provost Brown said. "He has been instrumental in helping us launch this program."

The Fifth District Dental Society (FDDS) is a component of the New York State Dental Association and the American Dental Association. It covers eight central and northern New York counties with a membership of almost 700 dentists. The FDDS was also instrumental in the development of the Dental Hygiene program, according to Provost Brown.

"We're excited that highly qualified graduates will be entering the workforce by 2008," said Amy J. Pozzi, Executive Director of the FDDS in Syracuse. "The FDDS is extremely pleased that SUNY Canton and MVCC collaborated to find a creative means for offering this program."

A survey conducted in 2004 by the FDDS revealed that 31.2 percent of their dentists had a waiting list for hygiene appointments due to a lack of an available hygienist in their office. Additionally, 41.2 percent of the dentists reported losing patients due to their office's inability to offer an adequate number of hygiene appointments.

SUNY Canton is celebrating its 100-year anniversary this year and is in the midst of its highly successful SUNY Canton Centennial Campaign: Cultivating the Minds of Tomorrow. In addition to 26 associate degree programs, SUNY Canton currently offers 10 four-year degrees with plans to announce several other new programs during the next academic year. SUNY Canton also offers three unique master's degrees in conjunction with SUNYIT, Utica. The college has recently embarked upon articulation agreements with Lomonosov Moscow State University and Osaka College of Foreign Languages and International Business in Japan, allowing international scholars the ability to obtain a SUNY Canton degree locally or abroad.

May 23, 2006

Media inquiries should be directed to Greg Kie, Media Relations Coordinator, or call 315/386-7527.

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