GAINESVILLE, Fla.—Tampa periodontist Gerald Kluft, D.D.S., was honored as a Distinguished Alumnus for his achievements in dentistry, his leadership and his commitment to the community during the University of Florida’s fall commencement activities held last December.
Kluft graduated from UF with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 1969. He earned his dental degree in 1973 from the Medical College of Virginia, soon followed by graduate training in periodontics at the University of Kentucky. He has since enjoyed a distinguished career as a practicing periodontist in Tampa, Fla.
Although UF did not yet have a College of Dentistry when Kluft entered dental school in Virginia, he has consistently demonstrated his support for dentistry at UF. His was the lead gift for the renovation of a surgical suite for the UF College of Dentistry’s department of periodontology. He extends his time and expertise to the college as president of the UF College of Dentistry Development Advisory Board, and he currently serves as co-chairman of dentistry’s Capital Campaign. Perhaps most important, Kluft also provides the benefit of his clinical and management expertise to UF residents through service as a courtesy faculty member in the college’s graduate periodontics program.
Kluft’s commitment to his community includes directorships and service as treasurer of the Academy of the Holy Names of Florida. As past president and five-year chairman of finance for the Corpus Christi School Board, Kluft was the driving force in the school’s capital campaign. He also helped establish innovative new health insurance and pension programs for its faculty and staff.
Kluft leads a vigorous professional life filled with service and care for others.
He is a consultant in periodontology to Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Bay Pines, Fla. He is a past president of the Florida Society of Periodontology, and he maintains active membership in the Florida Dental Association, the American Dental Association and the Southern Academy of Periodontology. He is the past president of the Florida Society of Periodontists, a fellow in the International College of Dentists and a member of the Pierre Fauchard Academy. He lives in Tampa, Fla. and has three sons, Ryan, Troy and Jonathan.