Recipients of the Edward M. Osetek Educator Award must have demonstrated status as an outstanding educator by earning the esteem and respect of students and faculty; by the quality of former/current students and their impact on endodontics; and by receiving invitations to present endodontic seminars, lectures or workshops at other educational or research institutions. He or she must have less than 10 years of full-time teaching experience.
“Dr. Borgia continues to epitomize the concept of excellence in teaching at WVU. His ability to train both pre-doctoral and graduate residents in the precepts of endodontics is unparalleled nationally, as evidenced by this prestigious Educator Award,” David A. Felton, D.D.S., M.S., dean of the WVU School of Dentistry, said. “We are extremely proud of his accomplishments, as he has set the bar for others in the School of Dentistry and in the Health Sciences Center in the critical area of teaching.”
Borgia left his private practice in March 2010 and accepted a full-time position at the WVU School of Dentistry as the department chair and pre-doctoral director in the Department of Endodontics. Since then, he has successfully restructured the undergraduate and graduate endodontic program.
Borgia has utilized department alumni donations to remodel both the pre-doctoral and post-doctoral clinics, including the installation of surgical-quality endodontic microscopes. He has created a curriculum to help undergrads better understand the concepts of endodontics throughout their four-year education. He received the Outstanding Teacher Award from the School of Dentistry Class of 2011.
“I was honored to have received the award,” Borgia said. “We as faculty members are mere reflections of our students and colleagues and without them, could never achieve our combined goals of education, research and patient care.”
For more information about the School of Dentistry, please visit http://dentistry.hsc.wvu.edu/Pages.
Photo caption: Dr. Tom Borgia (second from right) celebrates his Edward M. Osetek Educator Award with his colleague Dr. Takashi Komabayashi (far left) and residents (from right to left) Dr. Nathaniel Nicholson (1st year resident), Dr. Khaled Seifelnasr (1st year resident), Dr. Dustin Reynolds (2nd year resident) and Dr. Gabe Holley (2nd year resident).