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S. Elmer Bear Chair

Elmer Bear

The S. Elmer Bear Chair was established to honor the man who brought the study and practice of oral surgery to the VCU School of Dentistry.

S. Elmer Bear began teaching at the MCV School of Dentistry in 1951. He lectured in oral surgery, exodontia and anesthesia. Over the next few years, Bear became a full tenured professor, chief of the MCV Hospital Division of oral surgery and chair of the dental school's oral surgery department. In 1974, Bear's role expanded to include appointments at the School of Medicine and the School of Dentistry. Bear remained active as professor and chair until his death in 1981.

The S. Elmer Bear Chair ensures the continuing presence at the VCU School of Dentistry of a nationally respected expert in the specialty of oral surgery. Watch this video to learn more about the S. Elmer Bear Chair.

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Daniel M. Laskin Professorship

Daniel M. Laskin

Daniel M. Laskin, D.D.S., M.S., began his career at the University of Illinois College of Dentistry where he worked for more than 30 years as an OMFS educator, practitioner and program director.

Laskin decided to take on a new challenge in 1984 when he moved to the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Dentistry, as chair of the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. He continues to work at VCU, though he stepped down as chair in 2002. To this day, however, Laskin continues to lecture on OMFS all over the world.

Believing strongly in the need to continue and increase research in the OMFS field, he provided seed money in 2016 for a professorship in OMFS research with a planned gift of $250,000.

Through his generous bequest, Laskin issued a challenge for other oral surgeons to match his $250,000 to create a full professorship in research.

A professorship in academia is a prestigious position that allows the professorship holder to “buy time” from teaching to pursue research. Interest generated from the $500,000 full-professorship can be used to outfit labs, hire additional personnel—whatever the professor needs most to advance his or her research. It is a mark of the highest standing in a career, and allows the university to attract and retain the best talent in the field.

In honor of Dr. Laskin’s legacy of teaching and research, the professorship will carry his name. He believes that having residents engage in meaningful research not only provides information that helps to advance our specialty, but also that it ultimately makes them better surgeons and improves patient care by teaching them how to critically evaluate the literature and thus make their clinical efforts evidence-based rather than empirical.

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Evie Laskin Scholarship Fund

Evie Laskin

The Evie Laskin Scholarship Fund was established in her memory in 2012 by her husband of 63 years, Dr. Daniel M. Laskin, professor and chairman emeritus of the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. Evie was not only deeply devoted to her family, but was always concerned about the welfare of others. Thus, it is appropriate that this scholarship will be helpful to further the education of students in financial need from underrepresented populations.

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Dr. Nick Wang Memorial Scholarship Fund

Dr. Nick Wang

Dr. Nick H. Wang was born on March 15, 1976. He earned a D.M.D. degree from the University of Connecticut, a M.D. degree from the University of Texas (San Antonio) and finally completed his oral maxillofacial surgery residency from the VCU School of Dentistry in 2012. After a courageous battle with cancer, he passed away on February 10, 2017. Dr. Wang was known in the community for his generosity, kindness, and dedication to his patients. He put others before himself, and was a strong believer in “giving back”. In that spirit, this fund was created by his widow, Dr. Alice Wang to help defray the cost of tuition for future D.D.S. students who are interested in pursuing a career in oral surgery.

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Parking and Directions

Between 1946 and 1951 the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery training at this institution consisted of a 12-month internship offered by MCV Hospitals under the Division of Oral Surgery within the Department of Surgery. The Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Residency Program was formally established in 1952, accepting one resident a year. In June 1953, two new interns were accepted for one year. At the completion of that year, one of these interns was selected to go forward into a second and third year residency program. The completion of three years resulted in being eligible to take the American Board examination in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. The program continued as a three-year residency until 1977 when the residency program was expanded to four years and three residents were accepted each year.

Between 1950 and 1961 the program was staffed by two full-time surgeons; Dr. Leroy Smith, a board certified plastic surgeon, and Dr. Atwood Wash, an oral and maxillofacial surgeon. The program also included off-campus clinical rotations at other hospitals around Richmond, including training under Dr. S. Elmer Bear.

Dr. Bear was appointed department chair after the death of Dr. Wash in 1961. Bear held this position until his untimely death in 1981. During this time the reputation of the program and the department was raised to new levels institutionally, nationally and internationally.

Between 1981 and 1984, Dr. John Alexander was acting chair until 1984 when Dr. Daniel Laskin assumed the chairmanship. At that time the program was limited to 10 residents, with three residents accepted one year and two the next. Our program currently accepts three categorical residents each year.

In 1989, an optional two-year track to earn an M.D. degree was added to the curriculum of the program. This track was designed to allow graduates of the residency program to enroll in the VCU School of Medicine and obtain an M.D. degree. Since then, seven graduates have pursed this option and obtained M.D. degrees.

The leadership of the department has included many prominent oral and maxillofacial surgeons; Dr. Wash, Dr. Bear, Dr. Alexander, Dr. Laskin and Dr. A. Omar Abubaker. It also includes Dr. Louis Mercuri and Dr. Robert Strauss, as residency program directors.

The leadership of the department and the program, the knowledge and expertise of the faculty, the large number and wide variety of patients treated at the institution, and the extensive didactic curriculum, have all contributed to the excellence of the residency program. The program has remained fully accredited over the years, with nearly 100 percent success rate in residents passing the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. There have been more than 160 graduates of the program. Among the graduates are six current or former oral and maxillofacial surgery department chairmen, two presidents of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, two presidents of the Virginia Dental Association, and many superb clinicians around the country and abroad.