MORGANTOWN – WVU is receiving $12.6 million from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to expand and renovate its dental school and consolidate all postgraduate programs on the Health Sciences Center campus.
And dental school alumni have raised more than $900,000 to rename the orthodontic clinic in honor of the longtime orthodontics department chair.
The $12.6 million comes in the form of a Congressionally Directed Spending award secured by Sen. Shelley Moore Capito.
School of Dentistry Dean Dr. Stephen Pachuta said the grant will allow the school to expand and modernize its clinical education and research spaces at the Health Sciences Campus. “By having our faculty and our students working collaboratively in a shared environment, we can better meet the needs of our patients.”
The school also has a location at Suncrest Towne Centre. Pachuta said that site provides specialty care for patients in the areas of orthodontics, periodontics and prosthodontics. The dental group faculty practice and innovation center is also located at the Suncrest. “We anticipate some of those services relocating to the Health Sciences Campus in the future.”
Orthodontics department
Dr. Peter Ngan has chaired the orthodontics department since 1994. More than 30 alumni and friends contributed to the fundraising effort to rename the clinic for him, with an ultimate goal of raising $1 million to support plans to update and relocate the orthodontic clinic at the Health Sciences Morgantown Campus.
This renovation is the latest in the series of upgrades to modernize School of Dentistry facilities.
“Dr. Ngan is a nationally and internationally renowned leader in the orthodontic community,” said Pachuta. “His impact across the profession has been significant. His research has shaped and defined the practice of orthodontics for generations of orthodontists.
“As evidenced by the support and commitment of his residents over the last 30 years, Peter is an institution in the profession. He also has the distinction of being the longest-serving orthodontic department chair in the country. We are incredibly fortunate to have him as a leader at our School of Dentistry,” Pachuta said.
Dozens of alumni surprised Ngan with the announcement during a recent continuing education program sponsored by the Department of Orthodontics.
“I was honored and humbled by the gesture of my students,” Ngan said. “There is no greater gratification one can receive as a teacher than seeing your students be successful in their careers and give back to the university from which they received their education.”
The naming effort emerged from a group chat among WVU orthodontics alumni led by Dr. Pranav Patel, of Aurora, Ill. Patel first met Ngan as a dental student at Ohio State University, where Ngan previously worked. Patel said he applied to WVU because he liked Ngan, and he is grateful Ngan accepted him into the highly competitive orthodontics residency program at WVU.
“When I heard they were building a new clinic, I wanted to see if there was a way to create something in Dr. Ngan’s legacy,” Patel said. “He’s graduated orthodontists from WVU for 30 years, and he always created a warm, welcoming atmosphere. The aim is to create an environment that brings the most attractive applicants to WVU. A nicer clinic definitely makes a difference when you’re interviewing, as does hearing that residents and alumni are so appreciative they dedicated the clinic to the chair. I felt that positive energy when I came to WVU, and thanks to Dr. Ngan, I still feel it.”
Patel took the lead by donating $100,000. Dr. Larry Kalaskey, of Charleston, followed suit and helped reach out to alumni for their support. He was overwhelmed by the positive feedback he received from other graduates who wanted to contribute.
Ngan is a renowned expert in dental and skeletal malocclusion. He is even sometimes referred to as “Mr. Class III” because he often gives lectures on this topic at national and international meetings. He has published more than 170 original research and clinical papers in peer-reviewed journals and 180 abstracts, including contributions in several monographs and textbooks.
He has also delivered lectures at professional meetings in more than 40 countries. Patel said Ngan often reconnects with WVU alumni and residents at national meetings by taking them out for a Chinese dinner.
Ngan emigrated to the U.S. from Hong Kong in 1973 and honed his English while selling dictionaries door to door. Ngan received his dental degree from the Harvard University School of Dental Medicine and certificates in orthodontics, pediatric dentistry and hospital dentistry from the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine/Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
He is president-elect of the AngleEast Orthodontic Society and honorary faculty at the University of Hong Kong and Wuhan School of Stomatology.
Ngan’s wife, Dr. Elizabeth Kao, is a professor of restorative dentistry at WVU. Their daughter, Dr. Tiffany Ngan, and her husband, Dr. Billy Borowski, are both WVU School of Dentistry graduates practicing in eastern Pennsylvania. Daughter Dr. Emily Ngan is a board-certified specialist in obstetrics and gynecology who practices in Annandale, Va.
Alumni and supporters interested in contributing to the naming effort can make a gift online to the School of Dentistry Facilities Fund (2W686) or contact Karen Coombs, director of development for the School of Dentistry, at kcoombs@wvuf.org or 304-216-3784.
