The beginning of an annual tradition, Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine welcomed graduates celebrating milestone anniversaries back to campus for an Alumni Class Reunion on Saturday, October 26. Festivities included an afternoon barbecue, question-and-answer session with current students, as well as a tour through the school led by Patrick Lloyd, DDS, MS, dean of the school. The event concluded with a cocktail hour and sitdown dinner at the Waterview at Port Jefferson Country Club.
The visit was not only a trip down memory lane for alumni returning to their alma mater; it was also an opportunity to see how the school has changed since they graduated. Additionally, reunion visitors could see the multi-million-dollar renovations that are underway, which will result in new open-space biomaterials and basic science research laboratories and enlarged and upgraded student and prosthodontic resident labs by July 2025.
Robert Minoofar, DDS ’94, who practices general dentistry outside Los Angeles, traveled with his wife, Isabelle, to attend the reunion. In particular, he enjoyed learning about the future of the SDM as well as the soon-to-be dentists that it is educating. At the evening dinner, he and his fellow graduates reveled in reuniting with past faculty, including Philias Garant, DMD, dean of the SDM from 1979 to 1992, and Vincent Iacono, DMD, who has instructed dental students at Stony Brook since 1974.
“It was a great gathering, and it was so nice to see my classmates and how much the school has advanced,” Minoofar said. “Dean Lloyd was so approachable and friendly, and it was wonderful to learn about his ambition to expand the school.”
Teresa Skalyo, DDS ’94, a general dentist based in Geneva, New York, was delighted to reconnect with her classmates. With several having relocated to faraway states, she said it had been some time since they had all been in the same room together.
“What I enjoyed most was the opportunity to have a place and time to meet with my classmates,” Skalyo said. “When thinking back on my experiences from dental school, these years were different from college or high school. In dental school, we were all experiencing the same stress, taking the same tests, living together, studying together. We got to know each other and became close.”
“I was proud to see all of the positive changes and expansion that has happened at Stony Brook since I graduated,” she added. “The visit made me want to go back through dental school all over again.”
Dean Lloyd expressed his excitement about continuing to welcome alumni back to the school each year.
“Our graduates are our very best ambassadors,” Dean Lloyd said. “They help us recruit the best students and residents into our programs and can advocate for us with legislators to secure the resources we need to take our school to the next level, so we can better serve the citizens of New York, offer the most advanced educational experiences, make discoveries that have meaningful impact on our patients and lead the profession forward.
“In that vein, it is important that they see that their school — and the students and residents who have followed in their footsteps — are on an upward trajectory,” he continued. “I was so pleased to meet alumni who had not been back to campus in many years, and look forward to doing so in the years to come.”
Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine will hold an alumni reunion for members of the classes of 1980, 1985, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2020 in the fall. Graduates interested in serving as an ambassador for their class can contact Janet Masini, director of alumni programs, Office of Alumni Relations, at janet.masini@stonybrook.edu or (631) 632-6212.
