NEWS

UNC-CH School of Dentistry dedicates $21 million Tarrson Hall

CHAPEL HILL -- The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Dentistry today (Nov. 22) dedicated Tarrson Hall, a $21 million clinical teaching facility.

The school's alumni and friends heard remarks from Lt. Gov. Dennis A. Wicker. Other dignitaries participating in the dedication ceremony were: Dr. John W. Stamm, dean; Dr. James A. Harrell Sr., an Elkin dentist and chair of the school's fund-raising campaign and his wife, Isabel; Molly Corbett Broad, president of UNC; UNC-CH Chancellor Michael K. Hooker; and E.B. and Linda Tarrson, donors to the building.

“Tarrson Hall will provide a tangibly superior learning, patient care and work environment for students, patients, staff and faculty,” Stamm said. “The building has been designed to incorporate the most advanced current and future technological innovations. Tarrson Hall is central to maintaining Carolina's long tradition of national leadership in dental education, research and clinical care.”

The six-floor, 92,500-square-foot facility will allow students, staff and faculty to work and study using state-of-the-art technology. Each patient treatment unit will have a computer connection. Students will work with the latest dental equipment, such as digital imaging devices and intra-oral cameras. Electronic patient records and appointment systems will allow more efficient scheduling and record retrieval and tracking. Specialty clinics and separate admissions and urgent-care centers will provide high-quality service for patients.

“I am thrilled to see this building completed,” Harrell said. “I am thankful for the people who donated to the school. Without their generosity, we would have not received funds from the state and the university, and we would not have the finest clinical teaching facility in the country.”

Tarrson Hall was paid for in part with $8.9 million from a statewide university improvement bond package approved by voters in North Carolina in 1993. E.B. Tarrson, former chairman and chief executive officer of the John O. Butler Co. and his wife, Linda, donated the initial $2 million to launch fund-raising for the building.

The UNC-CH School of Dentistry, the state's only dental school, has consistently been ranked first or second in the nation in various surveys, including those conducted by U.S. News and World Report magazine. The school ranks fifth in research dollars awarded by the National Institutes of Health. The School of Dentistry has trained two-thirds of all dentists in North Carolina, and one of its graduates practices in 93 of the state's 100 N.C. counties.

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(Note to media: A color photo of Tarrson Hall is available.)

Dental school contact: Alice Lockhart, 966-4563
News Services print contact: Karen Stinneford, 962-8415