Russel Alexander Dixon
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Russel Alexander Dixon (February 24, 1898 – January 3, 1976) was the first African-American to earn an advanced degree in dentistry from Northwestern University and the first African American dean of Howard University College of Dentistry.[1] He was the longest serving dean in dental education, with a 35 year tenure from 1931 to 1966.[1]
Russel A. Dixon was born on February 24, 1898, in Kansas City, Missouri to father, William James Dixon, and mother Lillie Belle Tribue Dixon.[2] He attended Hampton Institute from 1919 to 1920,[1] but switched to Ferris Institute, where he completed an undergraduate degree from 1920 to 1924.[2] In 1929 he received his Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) degree from Northwestern University Dental School.[2] Furthermore, in 1933 he became the first African American to earn a Masters of Science in Dentistry from Northwestern University.[1][2] In 1965, Dixon received an Honorary Doctorate from Ferris State University.[1]
Howard University School of Dentistry
Dixon became part of the Howard Dental School faculty in 1929 and was appointed Acting Dean of Howard Dental School in 1931.[3][2] He was later appointed and remained dean until his retirement in 1966.[1] During his tenure he contributed greatly to the curriculum, enrolment requirements, academic preparation of the dental faculty, and planning of a new dental building.[2] He was committed to racial integration and gender equality in dental education.[2] By 1960, more than half of the US's 1,681 African American dentists were graduates of the Howard University College of Dentistry.[4]