School of Dentistry
At the VCU School of Dentistry, we believe in the potential within every student, faculty member, researcher, clinician and patient — a potential that engages everyone, fuels innovation, drives breakthroughs and transforms lives. Unlocking Potential: VCU’s Campaign for the Future is a bold initiative to invest in that potential by expanding access, advancing research and improving health outcomes. Your support during this campaign ensures our graduates are skilled clinicians and leaders in patient care, research and community health. Your generosity helps expand access to dental education and care, creating opportunities for students and the communities we serve to thrive.
As the only dental school in Virginia, the VCU School of Dentistry plays a vital role in shaping the future of oral health care across the commonwealth and beyond. With your support, we will create scholarships that open doors for aspiring dentists, enhance clinical experiences that bridge education and practice, and drive research that improves oral health outcomes for everyone. Together, we will build pathways that empower dental students to lead, serve and innovate.
Join us in unlocking potential at the VCU School of Dentistry. When you invest in dental education, you invest in the future of oral health for everyone.
Our goal
You will unlock potential in the School of Dentistry when you help us reach our goal of $35 million.
Our priorities
Increasing access and fostering student success
At the VCU School of Dentistry, students don’t just learn about dentistry — they gain hands-on clinical experience through mentorship and patient-focused training that prepare them to be leaders in oral health care.
Your support helps ensure that every deserving student has access to a transformative dental education. Scholarship funding, whether through current-use support, endowed gifts or full cost of attendance, opens doors for talented students, reducing financial barriers and expanding access to the profession.
Together, we can unlock potential in every dental student and prepare them to make an impact on the communities they serve.
Blazing trails and leading change through innovative research
Every day, researchers in the VCU School of Dentistry push boundaries, challenge assumptions and create knowledge that transforms oral health care. From developing advanced treatment techniques to tackling the causes and therapies for oral cancer, VCU is a leader in shaping the future of dentistry.
Your support fuels groundbreaking dental research that improves patient care, elevates prevention, enhances treatment outcomes and drives innovation in the profession. By investing in cutting-edge facilities, interdisciplinary collaborations and pioneering research studies, you empower our faculty and students to make discoveries that propel oral health care practices.
Together, we can unlock new insights, advance the science of dentistry and shape a healthier future for all.
Recognizing faculty and nurturing scholarship
Faculty in the VCU School of Dentistry are more than instructors — they are pioneers in patient care, mentors shaping the next generation of dental professionals and researchers driving innovations in oral health. Their expertise and leadership will transform dentistry, ensuring that VCU remains at the forefront of dental education and clinical excellence.
Your support fosters faculty excellence. A new endowed professorship in community and oral health services will provide vital resources to recruit and retain a top scholar who will lead the transformation of our school’s Advanced Education in General Dentistry program from a campus-based model to a statewide, hub-and-spoke network — expanding access to education and care across Virginia. It will also create opportunities to elevate and integrate dental hygiene education within this broader system, recognizing the essential role dental hygienists play in advancing community health. Additionally, restoring our prosthodontics residency will enhance specialized training that equips dentists with the expertise to restore oral function and improve quality of life for patients. With your help, we can empower all faculty to push the boundaries of dental science, train the next generation of oral health leaders and strengthen the dentistry workforce.
Together, we will unlock potential and shape the future of dentistry.
Sustaining institutional excellence and achieving prominence
The VCU School of Dentistry is shaping the future of oral health care one student, one patient and one breakthrough at a time. To continue delivering world-class education, conducting groundbreaking research and providing optimal patient care, we are building a state-of-the-art facility that will advance dental education and expand access to care for our community.
Your support will help construct and outfit a cutting-edge home for dental education — one designed to foster innovation, enhance hands-on training and equip our students and faculty with the latest technology. This new facility will open doors to fresh opportunities for discovery, collaboration and service to unlock new pathways to explore what’s possible in oral health care. Investing in a new home for the VCU School of Dentistry ensures that VCU remains a national leader in dental education and patient care, preparing the next generation of oral health professionals to meet our communities’ urgent, evolving needs.
Together, we can unlock access to a transformative space where future dentists will learn, grow and lead and more patients can access treatment.
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Shape what’s next
I take immense pride in each student who walks through our doors. Their journeys began the moment they were accepted — not just into a school but into a lifelong commitment to serve, to heal and to lead in the dental profession.
Today, thanks to the generosity of our donors and supporters, we stand at a pivotal moment. Your investment is not just helping us educate the next generation of dental professionals — it is helping us shape the future of oral health in Virginia and beyond.
This campaign is dedicated to serving the profession, our patients and the communities that rely on us. We are going to do that best by improving access to care, creating a better workplace and through research and innovation.
I am excited by the momentum we have built. We are not just responding to change — we are leading it. Thank you for believing in our vision and for being part of this extraordinary journey.
Lyndon F. Cooper, D.D.S., Ph.D.
Dean and Harry Lyons Professor, School of Dentistry
You are the key.
You’ve seen how this historic effort is unlocking potential across VCU and VCU Health for students, patients, faculty members, researchers, clinicians and members of our community. Now it’s your turn. How will you help shape what’s next?