VCU news

By Vernon Freeman
School of Dentistry

With Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s signing of the state’s biennial budget this month, Virginia Commonwealth University has been granted planning authorization to construct a new School of Dentistry building on the medical center campus.

“I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to everyone who advocated and supported our efforts towards obtaining planning authorization,” said Lyndon F. Cooper, D.D.S., Ph.D., dean of the VCU School of Dentistry. “Your collaboration and partnership has been invaluable throughout this process. While there is still a long road leading to construction, receiving planning authorization is a significant milestone.”

With the approval of the $5.2 million in planning funds, VCU can now begin developing initial project planning documents and schematic designs to determine the full scope of construction needs. The details determined through this process will inform the request for construction funds presented to a future General Assembly.

The university has identified VCU’s Larrick Student Center as the co-location of new facilities for the School of Dentistry. The Larrick site provides proximity to existing and future university and health system facilities on the medical center campus. Also, importantly for community access, the site is on the GRTC bus route and provides ample access to parking.

VCU School of Dentistry graduates approximately 105 dental and 20 dental hygiene students each year.

“As the only dental school in the state, we play a critical role in educating the next generation of dental professionals and supporting the oral health of communities across the commonwealth,” Cooper said . “The proposed new building will not only provide state-of-the-art equipment and technology to serve expanding dental and dental hygiene classes, it will also maximize care for patients from across the commonwealth, including underserved populations.”