This content was published: December 2, 2021. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
PCC’s new dental sciences space made possible by local dental company
Photos and story by Celina Baguiao
A long-standing relationship with the Willamette Dental Group and Portland Community College’s dental sciences programs has been further cemented.
The company donated $1 million to create the PCC Willamette Dental Group Endowed Dental Sciences Scholarship, which will fund dental science scholarships for years to come. Starting in spring 2022, the endowed fund will support students in the new part-time Dental Assisting Certificate Program, particularly those who have worked in a dental practice for six months or more and want to advance in their careers to become dental assistants.
Dental Clinic Needs You
The clinic, located at the Vanport Building (1810 SW 5th Ave., on the third floor), offers low-cost dental care that helps train the college’s dental sciences students. To make an appointment, call 971-722-4909 or email dentalclinic@pcc.edu.
As a result of the donation, the third floor of the Vanport Building in Downtown Portland, where the dental sciences lab is now located, recognizes Willamette Dental’s support. PCC’s dental science offerings include the Dental Hygiene and Dental Assisting programs.
“Willamette Dental and Portland Community College dental programs have always been partners in helping with the dental industry workforce development in the Pacific Northwest,” said Willamette Dental Group President and CEO Dr. Eugene C. Skourtes. “The opportunity to participate in the vitality and economic growth of our industry with partners who have helped us educate our dental technicians in Portland was a perfect way for our organization to help.”
In the spring of 2021, the dental sciences programs returned to in-person training and moved to a new space in the Vanport Building. Located on Southwest Fifth Avenue and Montgomery Street, the 30,000-square-foot third floor area includes a low-cost dental clinic, four labs (which includes a simulation and radiology lab), three classrooms, a student lounge, faculty offices, and a waiting area for patients.
The new space is more than three times the size of its former working area in the Health Technology Building (built in the late 1960s) at the Sylvania Campus. PCC partnered with Portland State University, the City of Portland and Oregon Health & Science University to provide a range of health care services and community resources at this location.
The building is named after the City of Vanport, historically known as home to a majority of Black Oregonians in the 1940s. The Vanport Extension Center – Portland State University’s predecessor – was estab- lished here in 1946, only to be washed away with the rest of the city by the massive 1948 Memorial Day Flood.
About Celina Baguiao
A Los Angeles native, Baguiao joined Portland Community College in 2016 as the Community Relations Manager at the Sylvania Campus. Spending her entire career in higher education, she has a background in public relations, athletics and event... more »
As a direct descendent of those who survived and thrived after the Vanport flood, namely my parents, grandparents I am excited to see the building being used in some way to provide services to the community. PCC hopefully will through their partnership with Willamette Dental and our dentistry Program get the message to the underserved and assist
In creating a healthier life for those in need.