COE - Role Models

Native American administrative staff and Native American full-time faculty in the Colleges of Dentistry and Medicine.
Linkage with Native American dental and medical practitioners who can serve as role models for prospective students.

Chad Garrison - A 1996 graduate of the University of Oklahoma College of Dentistry, Chad Garrison is the recipient of an Indian Health Service Scholarship. The scholarship paid for his dental education and, in return, requires him to serve as a dentist for an underserved American Indian community. To fulfill his service requirement, Dr. Garrison works for the Cherokee Nation, serving as the Chief Dental Officer for the Sam Hider Community Clinic in northeastern Oklahoma.
- Dr. Garrison first considered dentistry as a profession while attending East Central College in Oklahoma for he was interested in health and liked working with people. When he was accepted at the University of Oklahoma, he soon became involved with the school's Native American Center for Excellence. "One of the serious problems Indians encounter when they go to school", he says, "is that they do not have skills to let them stay in. Sometimes these students don't have the same educational background as others." Dr. Garrison explains that now there are many programs designed to assist Native American students and the center is very helpful for them: "The center has its own library, tutors who are second, third, and fourth year Native American students, and other special services like volunteer work with different tribes. Now, because of this help, almost 100 percent of the Native American students graduate."