At the end of June, Georgette Dent, MD, will retire as Associate Dean of Student Affairs at the UNC School of Medicine. In her 24 years in this role, Dr. Dent has mentored and inspired countless medical students.
Her enthusiasm for professional development fueled important new programs and initiatives across four decades of service. Under Dr. Dent’s guidance, the Office of Student Affairs expanded the office’s dual degree programs and developed the Advisory Colleges, the Office of Academic Excellence, and the Counseling and Psychological Services/SOM Embedded Counselors Program.
Of the many students whose experiences at the School of Medicine were shaped by Dr. Dent’s mentorship, one was driven to honor her impact by endowing the Dr. Georgette Dent Accelerating Change Award. Gregory Boyd, MD ’02, JD ’04, funded this annual award to honor Dr. Dent’s legacy of mentorship and vision for medical students and alumni success.
“I cannot think of Dr. Dent without imagining her laughing or smiling. She was intensely engaged and interested in students and the management of the medical school,” said Boyd. “She deserves to be honored every year and this award makes certain her career and contributions are remembered for generations to come.”
The inaugural Accelerating Change Award will be given this fall to a fourth-year medical student who has pursued a degree in addition to their MD, and who has displayed an extraordinary propensity for effecting change and advancing medical education. As future students are selected for the award, Dr. Dent’s legacy and impact on the UNC School of Medicine community will endure.
Dr. Dent’s awards and contributions are numerous and include UNC SOM Academy of Educator’s Lifetime Achievement Award in Medical Education, the UNC Hospitals Friend of Epidemiology Award, and the AAMC Southern Group on Student Affairs Bob Sabalis Award.
“I have had the honor of working with Dr. Dent over the last four years and have been amazed with her commitment to the UNC School of Medicine community. Her enthusiasm, leadership and integrity have impacted the lives of so many students,” said Amanda Antono, MD Candidate Class of 2023 and 2021-2022 UNC SOM Student Government co-president. “Dr. Dent has been a great mentor to me and has personally helped me grow as a leader during my time at UNC.”
Dr. Dent will continue as a faculty member in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, where she’ll surely find ways to motivate and mentor any student who is fortunate enough to cross her path.
Hear Dr. Dent speak about her 24 years as Associate Dean and make a donation to grow the Accelerating Change award and honor Dr. Dent’s impact into the future!