Martin F. Tansy, Ph.D., dean of Temple's Maurice H. Kornberg School of Dentistry, has announced his resignation, effective June 30, 2008.

After 21 years as dean and 45 years as a faculty member, Tansy will return to full-time teaching and research as a tenured professor in the school’s Department of Periodontology and Oral Implantology.

"The entire extended Temple family is grateful for Dean Tansy's many years of service to the Kornberg School of Dentistry and the university," said Lisa Staiano-Coico, provost and senior vice president of academic affairs. "Under Dean Tansy's leadership, the Kornberg School took great steps, highlighted by the Abramson family's transformational $10 million gift and the school's perfect accreditation review."

Tansy, who became dean in 1987 after one year as acting dean, led the Dental School through a period of growth and transformation.

Today the school is among the largest providers of oral health care in the nation, and is renowned for excellence in clinical dental education.

The school’s record of success is reflected by its recent perfect American Dental Association accreditation review. The review included 13 commendations for exceptional performance and no recommendations for improvement for any of the school's educational programs.

Other positive developments during Tansy’s leadership include stabilization of the school's financial status, construction of a modern clinical building, the recruitment of internationally renowned dentist-scientists to the school's faculty and development of urban and rural community-based oral health outreach programs, including the opening in 1988 of the first HIV/AIDS dental clinic in the mid-Atlantic region.

The 2006 gift from Madlyn and Leonard Abramson made history as the largest ever to the school. The gift, in support of student scholarships, honors the

memory of Mrs. Abramson’s late father, Maurice H. Kornberg, a 1921 graduate of the school. In recognition of the Abramsons' generosity, the university named the school the Maurice H. Kornberg School of Dentistry, making it the first U.S. dental school named in acknowledgement of a philanthropic gift.

"It has been a privilege and an honor for me to have had the opportunity to serve the past 22 years as acting dean and dean of the School of Dentistry," said Tansy, who is the longest-serving dean at Temple. "I learned a lot from the clinical dental faculty, and I admire the level of dedication, skill and professionalism Temple's dentists exhibit in their never-ending efforts to treat and prevent oral diseases in the community. I see the future of the Kornberg School of Dentistry as one that is bright, unlimited and fulfilling."

The Office of the Provost will form a search committee to begin a national search for Tansy's replacement in the coming weeks.