Dean Feldman Recognized for Her Visionary Leadership

Rutgers School of Dental Medicine Dean Cecile A. Feldman has been honored with the Gies Award for Eminence in Vision and Leadership by the American Dental Education Association’s (ADEA) Gies Foundation.

“Dr. Feldman’s work has been transformative for dental education,” said President of ADEAGies Foundation Marsha Pyle. “She has the ability to focus comments and action for some of the most critical challenges facing our profession. Because of her work, we have seen progress on these challenges.”

A distinguished professor, Feldman graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a BA, DMD, and an MBA in healthcare administration. She has been a faculty at Rutgers School of Dental Medicine (RSDM) since 1988 and has been leading the school as its dean since 1999. During her tenure, she has led efforts to create transformative educational experiences for students and improve New Jersey residents’ dental care access. She has overseen the launch of the school’s Internationally Educated DMD Program that trains foreign dentists to practice in the US. She has led major facility renovations, including the building of a new clinical wing and the ongoing preclinic redesign. Her clinical trials made the school a hub for innovative and impactful research.

“She has just completed a very large, multi-center NIH [National Institute of Health] funded study she did while being a dean,” said Brian Strom, chancellor of Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences. “She hasn’t had formal training in clinical trials, which is my field, so I understand it and respect it, and she pulled it off all while being the leader of her school. … Ceil is an amazing person in many ways.” 

Lily Garcia, professor and dean of Texas A&M College of Dentistry, echoed similar sentiments. “She is truly deserving of this as a visionary leader,” said Garcia. “She has tenancy and resilience, and considering she’s probably the longest standing [dental school] dean at this time, she has learned to be adaptive, creative, and be head of the curve in dental education.”

Another colleague, Professor and Dean of the University of Iowa College of Dentistry and Dental Clinics Clark Stanford said: “I was thrilled she was chosen for … [this] award because I can’t think of another at least dean that has been as consistent and wonderful as she has been in articulating a vision to help to move the profession forward.”

While the award left Feldman speechless, she emphasized that it is a testament to everyone she has worked with over the years. But her personal secret to success is passion. “When I give advice to people, I always emphasize to them that they should be pursuing what they’ve got a passion for,” said Feldman, who found her passion in dentistry, education, and research. “Because if you’ve got a passion for something, then you’ll probably be pretty good at it.”

Watch Feldman’s awardee video here.