Ceen’s career celebrated through new fund

June 24th, 2013

ceen-titleDr. Richard F. Ceen, recently retired professor and program director of graduate orthodontics, is being honored by the establishment of a new endowment fund in his name to enhance excellence for the graduate orthodontic program.

The Richard F. Ceen Endowment for Educational Enrichment was established in May 2012 to perpetuate Ceen’s untiring efforts toward the education of more than 150 orthodontic graduates over the past 25 years of his affiliation with the Department of Orthodontics.

“Dr. Ceen is an excellent teacher who relates well to the orthodontic residents and is a good listener and confidant for them in difficult times,” says Dr. Phillip M. Campbell ’71, ’73 (Ortho), chair of the department. “Our residents decided they wanted to honor him in this way.”

As a faculty member, program director and former department chair, Ceen’s contributions have led to exceptional recognition for the orthodontic department and success for its graduates.

“In addition to all that he has done for the department personally, Dr. Ceen hired anthropologist Dr. Peter Buschang, and that has been a real plus,” Campbell says. “Dr. Buschang brings significant prestige to the department through his teaching, publications and presentations worldwide.”

This endowment fund will provide a stable funding source and aid the department with speaker honoraria, new technology in the clinic and expenses for educational meetings for residents and faculty, according to Campbell. It also will eventually provide partial scholarships to aid students who are seeking a career in orthodontic education — something to which Ceen has dedicated his entire professional life.

Once the endowment amount of $200,000 has been reached, the spending limits will follow the guidelines of the Baylor Oral Health Foundation, which will hold and manage the funds. The endowment will have a board of directors composed of six members: three orthodontic graduates and one member from each of the current resident classes. The board will determine any disbursement from the endowment as needs arise.

For more information, contact Campbell at pmcampbell@tamhsc.edu or 214-828-8443, or administrative assistant Julie Bradshaw at jbradshaw@tamhsc.edu or 214-828-8172.

Checks should be made payable to BOHF with “Ceen endowment” noted on the memo line. Mail gifts to: Department of Orthodontics; Texas A&M Baylor College of Dentistry; 3302 Gaston Ave.; Dallas, TX 75246.

— Carolyn Cox