Dr. Paul and Mrs. Jean Corcoran Endowed Professorship
The University of Maryland School of Dentistry (UMSOD) has established its first three endowed professorships over the past five years, demonstrating a strong commitment to excellence in research and teaching.
Dr. Paul and Mrs. Jean Corcoran started 'Dentistry from the Heart' eight years ago as a result of his cumulative experience seeing patients in the ER with extreme dental needs for several decades. Corcoran felt compelled to do something about it, and his work has been recognized by the community: Vail Valley magazine published a profile on Corcoran and Dentistry from the Heart in its October issue.
“We open the office to whoever wants to come in. We do one procedure per person, a cleaning or a filling or tooth extraction. In a lot of ways that’s the best day of the year,” said Corcoran in the Vail Valley issue.
Corcoran has extended his generosity to the University of Maryland School of Dentistry as well. Paul and Jean have established the Dr. and Mrs. Paul Corcoran and Dr. and Mrs. Jeff Cooper Scholarship Endowment Fund to provide support to UMSOD students who are facing academic or personal challenges. The fund is a fitting tribute to Dr. Cooper’s selflessness and generosity, as well as testament to the bond the two have maintained over the years.
In October 2020, Robert K. Ernst, PhD, was announced as the inaugural Dr. Paul and Mrs. Jean Corcoran Endowed Professor. Created to recognize and support a well-established research team that will provide a positive economic impact on Maryland commerce, the endowment was funded through the generosity of Paul Corcoran, DDS ’75, and Jean Corcoran in partnership with the Maryland E-Novation Initiative Fund. Ernst, professor and vice chair, Department of Microbial Pathogenesis, has received more than $14 million in research funding since arriving at UMSOD in 2018 and is co-founder of the startup Pataigin LLC.
“Endowed professorships empower the school to recruit and retain outstanding faculty members as well as support in perpetuity their work as educators, scholars, researchers, and clinicians,” said Mark A. Reynolds, DDS ’86, PhD, MA, dean of UMSOD. “The philanthropic establishment of endowments by alumni and friends helps foster enduring academic excellence.”