Pioneering dental professionals to receive alumni honour
A long-time educator, administrator, management consultant and clinical practitioner has been named a recipient of the Alumni of Distinction (AOD) award from the University of Manitoba.
Sheryl Feller
Ms. Sheryl Feller will receive the 2014 award from the School of Dental Hygiene following a lengthy career of dedicated service to the profession and the broader community.
“Ms. Feller received tremendous support from many of those within our profession and that impressed our selection committee,” said Ms Cindy Isaak-Plogeman, president of the University of Manitoba School of Dental Hygiene Alumni Association and AOD selection committee member. “This is an excellent example of career commitment with many positive contributions to the dental hygiene profession.”
After earning her Diploma, complete with school Gold Medal in 1970, Ms. Feller spent seven years as an educator and clinical practitioner (general, periodontal and prosthodontic) at the University of Manitoba’s School of Dental Hygiene. After achieving her MBA (also with a gold medal), her first projects as an independent management consultant were dental and dental hygiene related, including the development of the first clinical practice standards for dental hygienists in Canada.
Her reputation as a capable project coordinator, facilitator and speaker was forged through committee appointments and activities with the Canadian Dental Hygienists Association. Ms. Feller earned an MBA from the U of M and went on to become a Fellow Certified Management Consultant (FCMC), after beginning practice in 1981. She was the first woman in Manitoba to earn the CMC designation and the first woman in Canada to serve as President of a provincial Institute of Certified Management Consultants. A succession of awards and honours would follow, including two entrepreneurship awards from Women Business Owners of Manitoba and the Distinguished Service Award from the Canadian Dental Hygienists’ Association.
Currently, she chairs the board of the Deposit Guarantee Corporation of Manitoba and was recently elected to the Board of Directors of Portage Mutual Insurance – the first woman to be elected to the board in the company’s 130 year history.
“Those of us in the field are well aware that dental hygiene is a profession that can lead us in so many different directions,” said Joanna Asadoorian, director of the school. “Sheryl’s career is a classic example of how far you can go and how much you can do.”
Ms. Feller will be presented with the honour at the Alumni of Distinction awards night at the annual celebration of oral health excellence in Manitoba. The evening – which will also feature the award recipient as selected by the University of Manitoba Dental Alumni Association – will take place on Friday, September 19 at the Fort Garry Hotel in Winnipeg. Tickets are available and can be reserved by contacting the Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Manitoba.
Senior Scholar Selected for High Oral Health Honour
Dr. William H. (Bill) Christie
A half-century of professional and community service has earned a University of Manitoba senior scholar one of the highest honours in the oral health profession today. Dr. William H. (Bill) Christie has been named the 2014 recipient of the Alumni of Distinction award. The selection was announced earlier this week by the University of Manitoba Dental Alumni Association, the sponsoring body of the annual award.
Christie’s long and distinguished career covers virtually every aspect of the profession, both inside and out, in addition to a volume of service within the broader community. Following close to 30-years in private practice, Christie returned to the University of Manitoba where he served in myriad capacities including lecturer (1974 – 80), Assistant Professor (1980–1989), Associate Professor (1989) and Full Professor (1994) and Senior Scholar (2003). He was elected to the University’s Senate Executive after serving as a faculty representative for several years.
Outside of the university, Christie has held many important positions for dental education, standards and administration including Regent and Deputy Regent for the International College of Dentists (Canada). He was also named as an Honorary Fellow of the International and American Colleges of Dentistry.
The member of the University’s Class of 1964 has authored over 15 publications and chapters and has edited over 60 editions of the Faculty of Dentistry’s Alumni – Faculty Bulletin. He remains active in this capacity as executive editor and head of the publication’s editorial board.
Within the community, Christie presently serves as a board member of the Manitoba Medical Service Foundation, a research supporting agency of Manitoba Blue Cross, in addition to several appointments and memberships on other boards, groups and agencies.
“Dr. Christie’s expertise in the profession is widely recognized and admired and may only be rivaled by his long-standing commitment and dedication to the betterment of the profession,” said Anthony Iacopino, Dean of Dentistry at the University of Manitoba. “All who have had the pleasure of encountering Dr. Christie can attest to his integrity and commitment to dentistry and oral health.”
Since 1998, the Alumni of Distinction honour has been bestowed upon members of the provincial oral health community for outstanding service to the profession and the community via the oral health academy of the University of Manitoba. Christie will be presented with the distinction at the Alumni of Distinction awards evening on Friday, September 19 in Winnipeg. Tickets are now available and can be reserved by contacting the Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Manitoba.