UCF dental school wins trustees’ approval

University of Central Florida’s Board of Trustees voted Thursday to build a dental school in Lake Nona’s Medical City.

UCF officials say the new school is needed in Central Florida because thousands of people are turned away from dental colleges at University of Florida in Gainesville and Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, which take in a total of about 200 students a year.

A third dental school accredited by the American Dental Association is scheduled to open later this year at a private college in Bradenton. It will accept about 100 students a year, an official there said.

UCF wants to open its program in 2014 near UCF’s College of Medicine in the heart of Lake Nona’s medical city. The goal: Graduating about 100 dentists a year to help meet a statewide demand for those professionals.

Before UCF can move forward, though, the proposal needs to be reviewed by the Florida Board of Governors, which oversees the State University System.

Rick Walsh, chairman of the trustees, said he expects the Board of Governors to discuss the proposal as early as next month. But UCF might have some competition.

Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University in Tallahassee has been researching opening its own dental program – as has Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, according to the trustees.

UF has been trying to expand its dental school for years.

UCF hopes its proposal stands apart because its dental school, they said, would be self sustaining. The university wouldn’t be asking the Board of Governors for money to launch the program.

“Let’s not forget we’re not asking for state support and that’s a big differentiator for any proposal,” Walsh said.

The program would be financed primarily through tuition and fees, officials explained.

UCF plans to borrow about $40 million to cover startup costs. The university announced earlier this month that a private donor committed $10 million to the project, and officials said they expect other donors to step forward.

Deborah German, who is the dean of the College of Medicine and would oversee the creation of the dental college, said the project would have a significant impact on the local community.

Not only would the school create jobs and attract research funding to help improve healthcare, she said the school would also house a 200-chair dental clinic that would be open to the public.

Construction of a 120,000-square-foot building for the program would begin in 2012 in Lake Nona, already home to several other hospitals and research centers.

The first class would comprise 60 students but the school eventually would serve 394. Those who complete the program would earn a four-year Doctor of Dental Medicine degree.

Tuition would cost an estimated $50,000 to $60,000 a year.

dbalona@tribune.com or 407-420-5470.

Originally Published: May 26, 2011 at 4:00 AM EDT