The University of New England (UNE) has been awarded $3.5 million from the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention to open the first college of dental medicine in northern New England.
The funds, along with a $2.3 million leadership commitment from Northeast Delta Dental, will be used to help with start-up costs associated with opening the dental college in the fall of 2013, according to the university.
In June 2010, the Maine Legislature approved a $5 million bond package to increase access to dental care in the state. Of that $5 million, $3.5 million was designated for a community-based teaching dental clinic affiliated with, or operated by, a college of dental medicine, to be matched by $3.5 million in other funds.
The school will begin accepting applications for students in June 2012. The application for accreditation has been made to the American Dental Association Commission on Dental Accreditation.
Goddard Hall, which first opened at UNE's Portland Campus 150 years ago, has been renovated to serve as the home for the dental college's administrative offices.
