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Rolf Arnold Deininger
Rolf Arnold Deininger, professor emeritus of environmental health sciences in the School of Public Health, Born in Ulm, Germany, Deininger earned his undergraduate degree in civil engineering in 1958 from the University of Stuttgart, his Master of Science degree in environmental engineering from Northwestern University in 1961, and his Ph.D. degree in environmental engineering from Northwestern University in 1965. He was appointed assistant professor of environmental health in the U-M School of Public Health in 1964, was promoted to associate professor of environmental health in 1969, and to professor of environmental health in 1973. In 1999, his title was changed to professor of environmental health sciences, and in 2006, he was named professor emeritus of environmental health sciences.
Deininger was a member of numerous professional societies and organizations, including the National Academy of Science and Engineering, American Water Works Association, American Society of Civil Engineers, The German Water Pollution Control Federation, the German Society of Engineers and the International Association of Water Quality. He served as a consultant to such international agencies as the Pan American Health Organization, World Health Organization, UNESCO, NATO and the World Bank.
Known for his commitment to academic scholarship, Deininger trained dozens of master’s level and doctoral students. A gracious and humble man with a marked sense of humor, he was a skilled builder, craftsman, beer maker and model train collector, as well as a devoted husband and father and a doting grandfather. He was especially appreciative and supportive of his wife’s career during their 52 years of marriage.
Deininger is survived by his wife, Ingrid; two children, Peter (Christina) Deininger and Heidi Deininger; five grandchildren; a brother, Werner (Elisabeth) of Ulm, Germany; two nieces; and a beloved dog, Sparky.
Vern Terpstra
Vern Terpstra, professor emeritus of international business, died Sept. 13, 2012 in Columbus, Ohio, after an extended illness. She was 88.
After earning a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from Miami University in Ohio (1946), she managed a physician’s office in Oberlin, Ohio. A short time later, she changed her career focus to study dental hygiene. Steele received a certificate from Ohio State University (1956), a bachelor’s degree in dental hygiene education (1957), and a master’s degree in health education (1959).
From 1959 to 1961 she was an instructor in OSU’s hygiene program. In 1961 Steele accepted an invitation to launch the dental hygiene program at West Virginia University. Six years later she became dental hygiene director at the University of Cincinnati. In 1968 she became director of the U-M School of Dentistry’s dental hygiene program.
During her 20 years of leadership at the School of Dentistry, the dental hygiene program became a four-year program designed to provide students with an expanded education resulting in increased career opportunities. The program required students to take a year of courses in liberal arts followed by three years of courses in dental hygiene at the School of Dentistry. Students who successfully completed the program received a Bachelor of Science degree.
Steele was an officer in many dental hygiene organizations, including president of the state dental hygiene associations in both Ohio and West Virginia. She also served as president of the Supreme Chapter of Sigma Phi Alpha, the dental hygiene honor society. She was contributor and editor to two books, “Review of Dental Hygiene - Questions and Answers” and “Dimensions of Dental Hygiene.” She was associate editor of the Journal of American Dental Hygiene Association and was a member of the ADA’s committee on dental hygiene.
For her contributions to dental hygiene education at the School of Dentistry and the dental hygiene profession, an award initiated by the Dental Hygienists’ Alumnae Association was renamed the Pauline Steele Student Leadership Award in 1987. The award is presented annually to the senior dental hygiene student who has demonstrated outstanding leadership abilities.
In 1994, she received the School of Dentistry’s Distinguished Service Award, which recognizes and honors a living person who has made an outstanding contribution to the School of Dentistry, the school’s Alumni Society, or to the profession of dentistry or dental hygiene.
Wendy Kerschbaum, associate professor of dental hygiene and who succeeded Steele as director of the dental hygiene program in 1988, said a dinner meeting she had in 1967 when she was an undergraduate set the stage for what she describes as a rewarding career.
“I began my dental hygiene education the same year Pauline became director,” Kerschbaum says. “For the next 20 years, she was role model, mentor and friend. She was one of the great leaders in dental hygiene during her career.”
Christopher Peterson
Christopher Peterson, a professor of psychology and organizational studies whose research dealt with character strengths and how they relate to such outcomes as happiness, achievement and physical well-being, died Oct. 14, 2012. He was 77.
A School of Dentistry faculty member from 1969 until his retirement in 2000 and a professor of microbiology at the Medical School since 1971, Loesche’s research focused on possible links between periodontal disease, caries and systemic health. “If periodontal disease is a risk factor for heart disease, then it is a modifiable risk,” he said at the time, “and we can take steps to treat or prevent periodontal disease. That will have implications for the future health and longevity of individuals.”
With research funded by the National Institutes of Health beginning in the 1980s, Loesche said there were dramatic improvements in periodontal health accompanied by a reduced need for surgical intervention.
Loesche earned a bachelor’s degree from Yale University (1957), his DMD from the Harvard School of Dental Medicine (1961), a periodontal certificate from the Harvard Forsyth Dental Center (1964), and his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1967). While earning those degrees, Loesche also was an assistant staff member, instructor and research fellow at Harvard, Forsyth and MIT.
Throughout his career he received numerous awards and honors, including an honorary doctorate from the University of Goteborg, Sweden (1988), and an honorary doctorate from the University of Ghent, Belgium (1992). He was president of the American Association for Dental Research (1988). He received the Distinguished Scientist Award from the International Association for Dental Research (1994) for his caries research. He was an integral part of organizing a program held at the International Fluoridation Symposium (1995) commemorating 50 years of water fluoridation in Grand Rapids, and was recognized by the Michigan Dental Association for his efforts.
Loesche published three textbooks, more than 170 peer-reviewed articles, and 50 chapters. He served on the editorial boards of prominent scientific publications including the Journal of Periodontal Research and the Journal of Oral Microbiology.
