Dr. Elsie Gerlach (1900-1967) was named the first superintendent of the

University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry The University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry evolved from the Columbian Dental College, founded in Chicago in 1891. The college informally affiliated with the University of Illinois in 1901, and was chartered as an official college o ...

Children's Clinic in 1927 after having served as an instructor at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

. Gerlach stayed for 38 years and became nationally known and respected as a pioneer in the teaching and development of

pediatric dentistry Pediatric dentistry (formerly pedodontics in American English or paedodontics in Commonwealth English) is the branch of dentistry dealing with children from birth through adolescence. The specialty of pediatric dentistry is recognized by the Ameri ...

. In the early years of the clinic, she looked for children on the street who needed dental care and brought them to the clinic.''Celebrating A Proud Past: Centennial of the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry.'' Chicago, Illinois: UIC College of Dentistry Press, 2013, p. 93. While working at the college, she was also a teacher and administrator at LaRabida Sanitarium, the Crippled Children's Hospital, and the Chicago Child Care Society. Active with the American Society of Dentistry since its inception, the organization awarded her its first-ever life membership in 1962. She was the first president of the Illinois ASDC. She also was a founder of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry.

References

''Chicago Tribune'' obituary for Gerlach

External links

University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gerlach, Elsie 1900 births 1967 deaths American dentists University of Illinois Chicago faculty American dentistry academics 20th-century dentists