Retirement

Abstract

This editor has dreamed of retirement for many years, and this wonderful time has come. I turned in my last paper clip at work and happily left the building for good this past summer. A fifteen-year tour of duty at the University of Texas Health Science Center was concluded with the completion of one last research project with my colleague, Pirrka Nummikoski. Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology has provided a rewarding and challenging career for me with training at the University of Connecticut and a decade of work at both the University of North Carolina and at the School in San Antonio. I recall vividly the academic opportunities provided by Allan Reiskin during my radiology residency at UCONN and the support and educational experiences given to me by Alan Lurie and Michael Freedman. I came to realize the value of this experience during my first faculty job in North Carolina. As a very inexperienced assistant professor at the UNC School of Dentistry, I was given the freedom to learn the ropes of a faculty person. I am so grateful for my association with Dean Ray White, Jim Scatliff, Jeff Burkes, Sallye Sanders, Mel Kantor, Don Tyndall, Cy Whaley, and Rick Platin. How we struggled with the advancement of the predoctoral radiology program, a newly developed Masters in Radiology program, and the Radiology Institute continuing education program! We had fun, though, and built the foundation for the expansion of that program into the nationally recognized one that it is today. How exciting it was to be sitting at my desk in San Antonio in about 1993 when the news swept through the halls that the School was judged the #1 dental school in the country. Seemingly within minutes, the students had pins for sale with a huge #1 printed on its surface for one dollar. I still have that pin. The radiology group at San Antonio had a rich history prior to my arrival there in 1988, and we were able to enhance our facilities and faculty due to the support of Health Science Center President, John Howe, Dean Ken Kalkwarf, and the skills and hard work of Pirkka Nummikoski, Marden Alder, John Preece, Bob Langlais, Tom Deahl, Brent Dove, Doss McDavid, and Bill Moore. Dental digital radiology, subtraction radiography, and two- and three-dimensional computed tomography were established for clinical and research purposes. What fun. We worked with some very talented dental specialists and colleagues from the associated medical school and provided advanced imaging services and conducted many research projects. It was exciting to see summer dental research students and graduate students from many disciplines involved with the research. My wife, Mary Ann, and I now live in Alpine, Texas, a small town in West Texas about 70 miles north of the Big Bend National Park and 40 miles south of the MacDonald Observatory. We built a house here on 6 acres and enjoy the “big sky country” with beautiful sunsets and the cool, dry desert landscape. I am working on my golf game and actually have time to practice every day. I am also auditing a course at the local state college, Sul Ross, titled “University Chorus.” Singing is a passion of mine and being a student is quite an interesting experience after serving in the teaching role for so long. Many thanks to the very talented authors who contributed papers to the Radiology Section of OOOOE over the past 3 years and to the loyal corps of reviewers who, behind the scenes, made significant contributions to the quality of the publications. I believe we have made important contributions to the dental literature. Farewell and best wishes to all.