First female dean of US dental school dies

Dr. Jeanne Sinkford was 2015 ADA Distinguished Service Award winner

Jeanne Sinkford, D.D.S., Ph.D., the first female dean of a U.S. dental school and one of the 2015 winners of the ADA Distinguished Service Award, has died.

Dr. Sinkford was the dean of the Howard University College of Dentistry for 16 years and the associate director and director of the Center of Equity and Diversity at the American Dental Education Association for 17 years.

She then served as senior-scholar-in-residence at ADEA, where her work focused on promoting the growth of underrepresented minority and female students and faculty in dental education.

Dr. Sinkford was a 1953 Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Howard University with a degree in psychology and chemistry. She then graduated first in her class from the Howard University College of Dentistry.

In 2015, the ADA Board of Trustees awarded Dr. Sinkford with the Distinguished Service Award, its highest honor. She was one of two recipients that year.

"Dr. Jeanne Sinkford is a true leader in dentistry and I'm inspired by her," said then-ADA President Maxine Feinberg, D.D.S., at the time. "Throughout her career, and especially as the first female dean of the College of Dentistry at Howard University, Dr. Sinkford has enriched our profession by creating pathways for underrepresented minorities and women to enter the dental field.”