Awards

Distinguished Alumni Service Award - 1966

School of Dentistry Distinguished Alumni Award - 1964

About Gerald D. Timmons

Dr. Gerald D. Timmons received a Phar. G. from Valparaiso University in 1917, and in 1925 he received a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from Indiana University. He was also a Fellow at the American College of Dentistry.

A nationally known figure in dental circles, he was President of the Indianapolis Dental Society and was a Dental Technical Adviser to the Indiana State Board of Health.

He was active in national dental circles and was Secretary Treasurer of the American Association of Dental Schools, as well as a Trustee of the American Dental Association. He was the First Vice-chairman of the American Council of Education and was a member of the National Board of Dental Examiners.

In 1938, Timmons was appointed Acting Dean for the IU School of Dentistry, after working for seven years as secretary to the faculty. Additionally, Timmons worked as an Instructor in Pharmacology and Materia Medica and a Clinical Instructor. He later served as Assistant Professor of Operative Dentistry, as Associate Professor of Operative dentistry, and finally as Professor of Materia Medica and Therapeutics.

In 1942, Timmons, became Dean of the Temple University School of Dentistry. His time there would prove to be a pivotal one for the school, and under Timmons’ leadership, the school prospered through turbulent times, as the school had recently been rated in the lowest tenth of all dental colleges in the country by the Council on Dental Education. He was responsible for revising the curriculum into one that met the current requirements and standards of the Council on Dental Education. He also planned and initiated the remodeling of many buildings to provide better facilities for clinics and laboratories. The school subsequently reacquired its good standing with the Council on Dental Education. He is remembered at the school for his infusion of new blood and ideas into the faculty, and for broadening the scope of dental education at Temple University.

Timmons left a message in a time capsule nearly fifty years ago at Temple University, and the capsule was opened on April 13, 2013.