Alumni and Friends

In addition to fillings, extractions, and bridges, there’s been plenty of romance fluttering through the halls of CHS over the past 60 years!

In advance of Valentine's Day, we put out the call to Bruin alums and students, asking for your UCLA School of Dentistry love stories. From Class of 1977 alums approaching their golden anniversary to a couple who found each other on the first day of D1 orientation last September, thanks for sharing your heartwarming tales of matches made in heaven … and scrubs.

On Wednesday, Jan. 17, the annual UCLA School of Dentistry Board of Counselors' Leadership Institute (BOCLI) welcomes its 2024 student cohort.

At each UCLA School of Dentistry commencement ceremony, graduates recite the Dentist’s Oath, which in part reads: I further commit myself to the betterment of my community for the benefit of all society.

The UCLA School of Dentistry is honored to announce Anh Le, D.D.S. ’92, Ph.D./O.M.F.S. ‘98 as its 2023 Alumnus of the Year.

***This interview appears in the UCLA School of Dentistry's Spring 2023 Magazine***


The current and past chairs of the UCLA School of Dentistry’s Board of Counselors – Joan Otomo-Corgel, D.D.S. ’76, M.P.H. ’80, and Naomi Ellison, D.D.S. ’81 – discuss how the seeds of service were planted in them from a young age and share advice for new alums looking to get involved beyond patient care.

Business leader, dentist, and UCLA alumna Naomi Ellison, D.D.S., ’81, will deliver the UCLA School of Dentistry’s 2023 commencement address on Sunday, June 4, at 10 a.m. in Royce Hall.

Alan Felsenfeld, M.S., D.D.S. ’74, professor emeritus of oral and maxillofacial surgery at the UCLA School of Dentistry, was reappointed to the Dental Board of California by Governor Gavin Newsom on Feb. 6, with a term running until Jan.

Wednesday, May 10, marked the culmination of the School of Dentistry’s annual Board of Counselors’ Leadership Institute (BOCLI); however, the personal growth, goal-setting, and mentorship for its 12 student participants will continue well beyond this four-month program. 

The UCLA School of Dentistry is pleased to announce Konita Wilks, D.D.S. ’11, P.D. ’14, as its 2022 Alumni of the Year.

Dr. Wilks currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, a 355-bed acute care hospital serving the San Fernando Valley, Santa Clarita Valley, and High Desert; it is one of four public hospitals in the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. Appointed to this role in April 2022, she is the first dentist to ever serve as CEO of an LA County Health Services hospital.