Marita Inglehart Receives U-M Diversity Service Award3 min read

Ann Arbor, Mich., May 9, 2019 -– School of Dentistry professor Dr. Marita Inglehart is one of six University of Michigan faculty members who will receive the 2019 Harold R. Johnson Diversity Service Award next week. She will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award that is part of the annual Johnson Awards presentation.

Dr. Inglehart is a professor of dentistry in the Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine and an adjunct professor in the Department of Psychology in the College of Literature, Science and the Arts.

The Johnson Awards, presented by the Office of the Provost, acknowledge faculty whose service contributes to the development of a culturally and ethnically diverse University of Michigan community. The award was established in 1996 in honor of Harold Johnson, dean emeritus of the School of Social Work. This year’s awards will be presented during a ceremony on May 14.

Inglehart has spent her decades-long career promoting diversity, equity and inclusion both within the School of Dentistry and across the U-M campus. She has served in programs related to mentoring and advancement for underrepresented minority students, including the Comprehensive Studies Program Mentorship Program, the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program and the U-M Mentorship Program. She has participated in several School of Dentistry, university and national committees and programs, including the school’s Multicultural Initiatives Committee and Taskforce on Special Needs Patients, the Senate Advisory Committee for University Affairs Committee for a Multicultural University, and the Michigan Oral Health Taskforce subcommittee on child abuse, domestic violence and elder abuse.

She helped establish the dental school’s Multicultural Affairs Committee more than 20 years ago. She directs its ongoing continuing education program for faculty, students and staff that covers a wide range of topics in patient care, such as treating patients with disabilities, patients with neurological disorders, underserved populations and underrepresented groups. She served as the program data manager of the Health Careers Opportunity Program, which addresses access, retention, matriculation and professional development of diverse dental professionals. Inglehart also developed diversity-related orientation programs that received two Best New Program in Dental Education Awards from the American Dental Education Association.

“She enhances the success of students and faculty from diverse backgrounds, serves as an enthusiastic mentor to countless students, and, through her research, continues to bring equity to our society,” Dentistry Dean Laurie McCauley said in nominating Inglehart for the award.

For more information on the awards and other recipients, see the story on the University Record website.

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The University of Michigan School of Dentistry is one of the nation’s leading dental schools engaged in oral health care education, research, patient care and community service.  General dental care clinics and specialty clinics providing advanced treatment enable the school to offer dental services and programs to patients throughout Michigan.  Classroom and clinic instruction prepare future dentists, dental specialists and dental hygienists for practice in private offices, hospitals, academia and public agencies.  Research seeks to discover and apply new knowledge that can help patients worldwide.  For more information about the School of Dentistry, visit us on the Web at: www.dent.umich.edu.  Contact: Lynn Monson, associate director of communications, at dentistry.communications@umich.edu, or (734) 615-1971.