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Posted 10-15-01

Marsha Pyle	Robert Hirsch

CLEVELAND—Jerold Goldberg, the dean of Case Western Reserve University's School of Dentistry, has appointed faculty members and alumni Marsha Pyle and Robert Hirsch to new posts at the school. Pyle will be associate dean for academic affairs, and Hirsch will serve as assistant dean for the coordination of clinical education.

Both will be involved with preparing for the school's seven-year accreditation in 2002 from the American Dental Association.

Pyle earned her B.S. from Ashland College in 1976 and her D.D.S. from CWRU in 1984. Hirsch received his B.A. in biology and anthropology in 1971 and his D.D.S. in 1975, both from CWRU.

They have begun a collaborative, in-depth look with the faculty at the school's missions, its goals, and curriculum to prepare the faculty, staff, and students for a mock accreditation process in November -- the preliminary round to prepare for the actual three-day visit by the ADA team next year. The results of the November meeting will lay the groundwork for a prescriptive plan to strengthen CWRU's dentistry program.

Pyle will devote time to a self-study of the dental school in preparation for the accreditation visit by writing the school's story as she answers questions concerning the six accreditation standards of institutional effectiveness, educational programs, faculty and staff, educational support services, patient care services, and research programs.

The ADA accrediting team members will look at CWRU's answers, says Pyle, and come prepared with questions for their tour of the facilities.

"Trying to get everyone on the same page with the program takes a tremendous amount of work," says Hirsch.

In July, Hirsch rejoined the dental school faculty to assume the new assistant dean's position at the dental school. In 1993, he joined the clinical faculty at the dental school as a preceptor for third- and fourth-year students.

He left CWRU in 1999 to become an associate professor and director of the Restorative Clinic course for the newly established Nova Southeastern University College of Dental Medicine in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. While there, he earned the 1999-2000 Outstanding Leadership Award for Dedication and Professionalism.

"Much of my work at Nova Southeastern was part of the accrediting process, and I'm bringing back that knowledge with me," says Hirsch.

He will examine each course taught in the dental school to see if it meets its objectives, see if sequencing of courses is in order, and determine whether materials are appropriate for the clinical and pre-clinical education programs.

In addition to activities surrounding the accreditation process, Pyle and Hirsch will continue to teach.

Pyle, whose focus is on geriatric dentistry, will continue research projects that involve understanding oral health outcomes for older individuals and how oral health is incorporated into general health care by the physician or long-tern care health workers.

She currently has undertaken an e-mail survey of 1,018 nursing homes in Ohio to see what priority nursing home administrators place on oral health. She is conducting another survey that asks dentists about their awareness of oral cancers.

Pyle came to CWRU to teach as a clinical instructor in the Department of Oral Diagnosis and Radiology from 1986-89. Since 1991, she has taught and overseen clinical classes in the geriatric dentistry.

In 2000, Pyle received the Ohio Dental Association's Humanitarian Award of Excellence for her work in geriatrics. She also was chosen in March to give the plenary speech at the special care in dentistry annual session for the American Society for Geriatric Dentistry, the American Association of Hospital Dentists, and the Academy of Dentistry for Persons with Disabilities.

During his 20 years in private practice in Erie, Pennsylvania, Hirsch has taught anatomy, physiology, and microbiology classes to the nursing students at Gannon University. During his years in practice, he held numerous leadership positions in local and state dental associations.

This year, he will teach three classes in diagnosis and treatment for sophomore, junior, and senior classes, as well as the clinical competencies and board preparation classes for seniors.