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Commencement features BCD alumnus Dr. Pat Blanton
 Dr. Patricia L. Blanton (BCD '74, '75) will be the
keynote speaker during Baylor College of Dentistry's Commencement Ceremony at 7:30 p.m. May 22 at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas. See "Commencement speaker has
distinguished career" (below) for more information about Blanton.
The BCD Alumni Association's Dental and Dental Hygiene Teachers of the Year will carry the college's ceremonial mace during the commencement processional and recessional. Dr. Stan Ashworth
(BCD '71), assistant professor of general dentistry, is the dental honoree;  Marylou Gutmann, professor in BCD's Caruth School of Dental Hygiene, is the dental hygiene honoree.
 Ashworth and Gutmann will first be recognized when the
Teacher-of-the-Year Awards are presented during the Senior Celebration at 6 p.m. May 21 at the Fairmont Hotel in Dallas. In addition, the induction of George W. Bramblett to the Hall of
Fame and awards to graduating students will be presented. The gala celebration is sponsored by BCD and the Alumni Association.
Commencement speaker has distinguished career
Dr. Patricia L. Blanton (BCD '74, '75), first woman president of the Texas Dental Association, has roots that run deep at Baylor College of
Dentistry. She received her dental degree from BCD in 1974 and was the only woman in her graduating class. She then remained at the college to complete a certificate in periodontics in cooperation with the Veterans
Administration Hospital in 1975.
However, Blanton's first affiliation with BCD was not as a student, but as a member of the faculty. Before entering dental school she had earned a
Ph.D. in anatomy from Baylor University in 1964, and she joined the BCD faculty in 1967 as an assistant professor in the Department of Gross Anatomy. Blanton remained on the faculty until 1985, ultimately serving
for two years as professor and chair of gross anatomy. She is now professor emeritus in the Department of Biomedical Sciences and remains on the adjunct faculty. She also has been a member of the Baylor
University Graduate Faculty since 1976. BCD's Patricia L. Blanton Library for the Biomedical Sciences was named in her honor in 1995.
Blanton is a strong supporter of her alma mater, working tirelessly over the years for the BCD Alumni Association and serving as its president.
After the formation of The Texas A&M University System Health Science Center in 1999, she was appointed a member of the Advisory Committee to the President and served as the committee's first chair.
Blanton also has a full-time periodontal practice in Dallas and has been active for many years in organized dentistry. On May 4, she became the
first woman to serve as president of the Texas Dental Association, having previously held the office of vice president and served as a member of the TDA's delegation to the ADA House of Delegates.
Blanton's other career achievements include chairing the National Institutes of Health's Oral Medicine/Biology Grant Review Study Section,
serving on the Academy of Periodontology's Legislative and Regulatory Affairs Committee, membership on the Scientific Affairs Council of the American Dental Association, and helping create the dental anesthesia
rules for the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners. She is past president of the Dallas County Dental Society and the first woman selected by DCDS as Dentist of the Year. She is a past president of
BCD's Omicron Chapter of Omicron Kappa Upsilon dental honor society, has published more than 80 professional articles and wrote a book, Atlas of the Human Skull.
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