Pacific School of Dental Hygiene Studies Director Honored with National Award

Lisa Rowley, director of the Pacific University School of Dental Hygiene Studies, is one of just two recipients nationally to receive an Award of Excellence in Dental Hygiene from the American Dental Hygienists' Association. Rowley received the honor at the ADHA annual convention in Columbus, Ohio last weekend.

Presented by Johnson & Johnson, the Award of Excellence is the ADHA’s lifetime achievement award that honors dental hygienists who have been actively involved with the association and its constituents, while exhibiting leadership in the advancement of dental hygiene.

The award recognizes outstanding accomplishments that have an impact on the practice and future of the dental hygiene profession in any and all roles of the dental hygienist. Only two recipients may be chosen for the honor each year.

“I am grateful to Pacific University for providing me with the opportunity to design a dental hygiene program that truly reflects the future of the dental hygiene profession,” Rowley said.

Rowley founded the university’s School of Dental Hygiene Studies in 2005 and has overseen its growth into a premier bachelor’s degree program for aspiring dental hygienists. She is developing a dental therapy education program for the school that is slated to become part of the curriculum later this year.

“Lisa has been masterful in garnering the philanthropic support of industry leaders in Washington County with a similar commitment to public health dentistry,” Pacific College of Health Professions Executive Dean Ann Barr-Gillespie said. “It has been an honor and a privilege to have Lisa as a member of the College of Health Professions leadership team. She is a true public health advocate who shines appropriate light on the critical importance of oral healthcare in a person’s primary healthcare.”

Rowley has a distinguished record of healthcare advocacy and service to her profession. She has served ADHA’s Council on Regulation & Practice for two years, including as chair during her second year, and is currently Oregon's liaison to the ADHA Institute for Oral Health. She has represented both Oregon and Pennsylvania as a delegate at the ADHA annual session, and has completed the ADHA Unleashing Your Potential leadership development program.

At Pacific, Rowley has overseen the education of more than 300 future dental hygiene practitioners, including the direct mentorship of many who have gone on to distinguish themselves in leadership and advocacy roles here in Oregon and nationally.

In addition to active roles in both the ADHA and the Oregon Dental Hygienists' Association, she has overseen the development of Pacific's Dental Hygiene Clinic and Smilecare Everywhere Mobile Clinic, both of which offer dental hygiene services to underserved populations.

Rowley holds bachelor's and master's degrees in dental hygiene from Old Dominion University (Va.), as well as a master's degree in organizational management from College Misericordia (Pa.). She earned her initial degree in dental hygiene (associate's) from Bergen Community College (N.J.).

The honor is the second for Rowley during the 2017-2018 academic year. Last November, she received the ODHA’s Lynn Ironside Access to Care Award, an honor named on behalf of a longtime advocate of oral health for underserved populations.