Wendell Willis, D.D.S., has accepted an appointment to serve as interim chair of the University of Florida Department of Restorative Dental Sciences effective July 1, 2013. He will also continue serving in his current role as division director for Pre-Doctoral General Dentistry in restorative dental sciences. He has been with the college since 1977 when he joined the Department of Operative Dentistry as a visiting professor while continuing to work in private practice in Gainesville. He continued his teaching and was part time faculty in the Department of Prosthodontics and then joined the college as a full time faculty member in the Department of Periodontics, before he became a team leader.
“I am extremely pleased that Wendell has agreed to lead the department, leaving the department in good hands while we launch a search for a permanent chair. His long history with the college teaching our D.M.D. students is an invaluable asset, not just for the department but for the entire college,” said Boyd Robinson, D.D.S., M.Ed., interim dean of the UF College of Dentistry.
Willis earned his bachelor’s in psychology from the University of Florida in 1962 and his dental degree from the Medical College of Virginia School of Dentistry in Richmond in 1966. He served in the U.S. Army before moving into private practice in Richmond, Va., and then in Gainesville.