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SUNY Canton and MVCC to Celebrate Dental

Hygiene Clinic Grand Opening, Nov. 29

SUNY Canton and Mohawk Valley Community College (MVCC), Utica, will be celebrating the grand opening of the Dental Hygiene Clinic with a ribbon cutting ceremony at noon Wednesday, Nov. 29 at the SUNY Canton Dental Hygiene Clinic at the Veteran's Administration (VA) facility in the Griffis Technology Complex, 125 Brookley Road, Rome, NY.

Twenty-fourth District Congressman Sherwood Boehlert and New York State Assemblywoman RoAnn DeStito will be joining SUNY Canton President Joseph L. Kennedy, Provost Jeremy D. Brown and MVCC President Michael Schafer for the ceremony. Members of the Veteran's Administration, officials from the Fifth District Dental Society (FDDS), and the Oneida Dental Society will also be on hand.

"The Dental Hygiene program, jointly registered with MVCC, complements our existing two-year curricula in health-related fields such as our Nursing and Physical Therapist Assistant programs," said Brown. "It also resonates with SUNY Canton's mission of offering in-demand degrees that lead directly to employment. We are extremely grateful to those who have helped us put together a high quality program and are pleased that many of them will be able to join us at the ceremony."

The Clinic currently has 23 students, who are enrolled in the two-year Dental Hygiene program. In line with SUNY Canton's four-year development, a bachelor's level Dental Hygiene program is anticipated for Fall 2007, pending approval.

Pamela Quinn is the Dental Hygiene program director. Quinn has worked as Associate Vice President for Academic Services and Assistant Professor and Department Chairperson for Dental Hygiene at Onondaga Community College. She has over 30 years of clinical experience in the field. Quinn works with the School of Health, Science, and Professional Studies at SUNY Canton, under Dean Linda Pellett.

Dental hygienists held about 158,000 jobs in 2004, according to the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. The number of jobs exceeds the number of hygienists. and this occupation is expected to grow at least 27 percent until the year 2014.

The Fifth District Dental Society 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.

"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 said. "The FDDS is extremely pleased that SUNY Canton and MVCC collaborated to find a creative means for offering this program."

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 22 associate degree programs, SUNY Canton currently offers 12 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.

November 24, 2006

Media inquiries should be directed to Greg Kie, Media Relations Coordinator, or call 315/386-7528.

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