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Remembering Drs. Bruggers, Herbert, Oliver

Faculty, staff, and alumni of the LSU School of Dentistry mourn the 2016 deaths of three distinguished faculty members. Drs. Howard Bruggers and Frank Herbert taught at the school during its early years, while Dr. Peter Oliver was an active faculty member shortly before his death.

Howard Bruggers, DDS, MA, professor emeritus of fixed prosthodontics, passed away on September 30 at the age of 88. A native of Holland, Michigan, and a Lafayette resident for the past three years, Dr. Bruggers came to LSUSD in 1969 when the school was still in development. He served as department head, director of continuing education, and associate dean of curriculum and planning. He retired from the dental school in 1993.

Howard Bruggers, DDS, MA

Dr. Bruggers attended Hope College, in Holland, Michigan, and received his DDS from Northwestern University. In 1976 he earned a masters degree from the University of New Orleans. A veteran of the Air Force during the Korean War, Dr. Bruggers practiced dentistry in Michigan for 13 years before coming to LSUSD. He was a member of Omicron Kappa Upsilon National Honor Dental Society and a fellow in the Academy of General Dentistry.
His daughter Dr. Karen Bruggers and son-in-law Dr. Mark Odom are LSUSD alumni. Efforts are underway to create a professorship in prosthodontics in his memory.

Frank Herbert, DDS, FICD, FACD, professor emeritus, passed away on July 11, 2016, at the age of 89. An alumnus of Loyola University School of Dentistry, he interned for a year at Charity Hospital of Louisiana before serving as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy Dental Service in Pensacola, Florida, and on the island of Trinidad from 1949 to 1954. He earned the National Defense Medal for his service during the Korean War. His career in dentistry included a 31-year private practice, 15 years of which were devoted to dentistry for children.

Frank Herbert, DDS, FICD, FACD

Dr. Herbert joined LSUSD as part-time faculty member for four years before retiring from private practice in 1979. He then served as a full-time faculty member in the Department of General Dentistry for 18 years before his retirement in 1997.

Dr. Herbert served as president of the American Society of Dentistry for Children, the American Academy of Dental Practice Administration, and the New Orleans Dental Association. During his retirement he authored From the Wolfpack to the Tiger Den, a history of the first 25 years of the dental school.

Peter Oliver, PhD, assistant professor of cell biology and anatomy, passed away on August 20, 2016, at the age of 64. He became director of the first-year dental anatomy course in 2005. After earning his BS in zoology from the University of Texas at Austin in 1975 and his PhD in anatomy and cell biology from the University of Southern California in 1981, he spent three years as a postdoctoral fellow at L'Institut d'Embryologie, in Paris, France. Before joining the LSUHSC faculty in 2004, Dr. Oliver was assistant professor of anatomy at McGill University in Montreal and a research scientist at the University of Southern California, Touro Infirmary, the LSUHSC Department of Pediatrics, and the LSUHSC Gene Therapy Program.

Peter Oliver, PhD

Dr. Oliver taught anatomy to allied health, nursing, and medical students, in addition to dental students. In 2014 he received the Golden Apple Award from the first-year dental class and in 2015 he received the Allen A. Copping Award for Excellence in Teaching in the Basic Sciences. He will be remembered by students and faculty members for his outgoing personality and kind humor.

 

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Last Update 10/2016