Appointment of Professor Cataldo Leone as Dean of the Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine
From Dr. Jean Morrison, University Provost and Chief Academic Officer
This past spring, I announced the formation of a search advisory committee to help identify the next permanent dean of the Henry M. Goldman School of Medicine. As you know, Dr. Cataldo Leone, who has been associate dean of the dental school since 2008, agreed to serve as dean ad interim while the search process was completed. He has provided steady, thoughtful leadership during this time of transition, and after a robust national search, which considered several strong candidates, I am pleased to announce Dr. Leone’s permanent appointment as Dean of the Goldman School of Dental Medicine, effective immediately.
Dr. Leone has been a member of BU faculty since 1999, joining the University as an associate professor of periodontology and oral biology, before being promoted to full professor in 2006 and to assistant dean for academic affairs in 2007. His research explores how specific salivary proteins can protect individuals from oral infectious diseases, as well as the effects of inflammation on epithelial cell behavior. He is additionally focused on educational methodologies and curriculum design and directs several pre- and postdoctoral courses.
Dr. Leone has garnered enormous respect as an administrator, teacher, researcher, and faculty colleague. He is a recent past chair of the BU Faculty Council, was inducted as a fellow in the American College of Dentists in 2018, and is a past recipient of the BU Chapter of the American Student Dental Association’s Faculty Award for Outstanding Dedication and Service to Dental Students and Organized Dentistry and the Goldman School’s Spencer N. Frankl Award for Excellence in Teaching. He has authored dozens of publications in top-tier refereed journals and his research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health and the US Department of Health and Human Services.
Throughout our conversations with Dr. Leone, it was readily apparent that his deep knowledge about the Goldman School and its culture, strong national reputation for basic, clinical, and educational research, and gift for mentoring and building on the successes of students, faculty, and staff make him an ideal fit for this role. Dr. Leone earned his DMD from the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine in 1983 and then completed a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies in Periodontology in 1987 and a Doctor of Medical Sciences in Oral Biology in 1989 at Harvard University. Prior to joining BU in 1999, he was an assistant professor of periodontology at the University of Florida from 1989 to 1993, and then an associate professor of periodontology and director of the postdoctoral periodontology residency program at Tufts University.
Dr. Leone assumes leadership at a very exciting time for the Goldman School, following the recent completion of a major three-year expansion and renovation of its Albany Street home – one that includes new, fully modernized facilities and further raises the standard of patient care, technological capacity, and educational programming it offers.
Please join me in congratulating Dr. Leone on his appointment and wishing him well in his new role as dean. I would like to thank Professor Leslie Will and the members of the Goldman School Dean Search Advisory Committee for their diligent and careful work throughout the summer and fall fielding candidates and coming back with an excellent report and group of recommendations. Finally, I’d like to give special thanks to the members of the Goldman School community, whose input and active engagement in this process have been vital to its success and to the continued advancement of their school.
Search Advisory Committee for the Dean of the Goldman School of Dental Medicine
Chair:
Leslie Will, Anthony A. Gianelly Professor and Chair of Orthodontics & Dentofacial Orthopedics, Goldman School of Dental Medicine (elected by the Goldman School of Dental Medicine)
Members:
Kathleen Corriveau, Professor of Applied Human Development, Wheelock College of Education & Human Development (selected by the University Provost)
Sandro Galea, Dean and Robert A. Knox Professor, School of Public Health (selected by the University Provost)
Raul Garcia, Professor and Chair of Health Policy & Health Services Research; Director, Center for Research to Evaluate & Eliminate Dental Disparities, Goldman School of Dental Medicine (elected by the Goldman School of Dental Medicine)
Simone Gill, Associate Professor of Occupational Therapy, College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences: Sargent College (selected by the University Provost)
Michelle Henshaw, Associate Dean of Global & Population Health; Professor of Health Policy & Health Services, Goldman School of Dental Medicine (elected by the Goldman School of Dental Medicine)
Katya Ravid, Barbara E. Corkey Professor in Medicine in Cardiovascular Medicine, School of Medicine (elected by the Faculty Council)
Shi Yang, Associate Professor of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine (elected by the Faculty Council)