College of Dentistry alumnus Phil Wenk, DDS, smiles when he remembers driving across the state in the mid-2000s with another alumnus, former Tennessee Gov. Winfield Dunn, to meet with potential donors and raise funds to renovate the Dunn Dental Building, which had not been updated since it opened in 1977.
“Gov. Dunn had a heart for the college and the people of Tennessee,” said Dr. Wenk, who is the retired chief executive officer of Delta Dental of Tennessee, the executive director of Delta Dental’s Smile180 Foundation, and the former chair of the UT Health Science Center Advisory Board.
The former governor, who hailed from Memphis and graduated from the College of Dentistry in 1955, passed away in September 2024. However, his legacy continues in the College of Dentistry, in those who knew him, and in the building that bears his name.
The Dunn Building, adjacent to the Delta Dental of Tennessee Building, which opened in 2023, has been the clinical workhorse of the college since it opened in the 1970s. In addition to clinics, it houses offices, training areas, and other spaces.
Cohorts of future dentists have honed their skills there, cementing the college’s reputation of caring for the oral health of Tennessee. The successful fundraising effort by the late governor, Dr. Wenk, and so many other supporters, including the state legislature back in the 2000s, paid for upgrades to its infrastructure, equipment, and units and chairs that were installed in 2009 and 2010. Now, it is again time for a facelift to take the building into the future.
To honor Gov. Dunn’s impact on the College of Dentistry and ensure his legacy, Delta Dental of Tennessee recently announced a commitment of $500,000 from its Smile180 Foundation to help update the Dunn Building pre-doctoral clinic. This will provide a dollar-for-dollar match for the first $100,000 per year in gifts to the UT Health Science Center College of Dentistry Equipment Fund over the next five years. The hope is this challenge will encourage alumni participation in the college’s effort to re-equip the clinic with new chairs and units.
Gov. Dunn’s contribution to the college was “immeasurable,” said Dean Emeritus William Slagle, DDS.
“I met Winfield when I first moved from my private practice in Oklahoma City to Memphis to become an assistant dean of the College of Dentistry,” Dr. Slagle said. “Dr. Jack Wells was the dean, and I believe Winfield had just been elected governor. There is no doubt Winfield’s commitment to the college was deep and sincere. No individual has contributed more to the long-term success of the college than Winfield.”
“Following Winfield’s term as governor his personal support of the college did not diminish, only increase,” Dr. Slagle continued. “He was always available for our fundraising efforts to support students and faculty, new programs, and continuing research – he traveled the state with me, the development staff, and others to improve our college.”
“I would be remiss if I did not add that Dr. Phil Wenk is a close second,” Dr. Slagle said. “Under his leadership Delta Dental of Tennessee’s financial support of the college increased manyfold and his personal involvement in fundraising for the college was way beyond the norm. Often Gov. Dunn and Dr. Wenk worked together in fundraising efforts for the college.”
For his part, Dr. Wenk is quick to say he believes Gov. Dunn is the college’s “most distinguished alumnus.” He sees the new fundraising effort for renovations to the Dunn Building as a way to honor his colleague and friend.
“And I think we’re doing it in honor of what he would have wanted to have done,” Dr. Wenk said. “His memory will be carried forward.”
If you would like to know more about the fundraising effort or make a commitment, please contact Tim Lanier, senior director of Development, at 901.448.5176 or tlanier@uthsc.edu.
Additionally, UT Health Science Center’s fifth-annual Giving Day is set for Tuesday, April 29. During this 24-hour campaign, the university invites supporters to join in making a gift of any amount for their favorite fund. This year, all gifts made on Giving Day, no matter the area they support, will be matched for the new Cancer Discovery Fund. Dollars in this fund will be awarded to faculty and students who want to conduct cancer research.