Dentistry’s Dr. Harn to receive community service award

Stan Harn, Ph.D., talks with students from Ord High School in his anatomy lab at the beginning of his hour-long presentation on dentistry and anatomy.

From developing and acting as curator for the dental museum, to coordinating children’s dental day, to running logistics for the dental SHARING clinic, Stan Harn, Ph.D., is one busy guy.

And that’s just what he does in his spare time.

Most of the time the UNMC professor of oral biology teaches gross anatomy to the students in the College of Dentistry.

“I’ve never seen anybody give as much personal time as Stan does,” said Brian Lange, Ph.D., also a professor of oral biology.

In recognition of these and other endeavors, Dr. Harn will receive the UNMC Spirit of Community Service Award during the Annual Faculty Meeting on April 21.

True to his nature, Dr. Harn is humbled by the recognition.

“I’m honored to receive the award but I can’t take all the credit myself,” he said. There are so many others who participate and help with these events, Dr. Harn said, including his wife, Jennifer Harn, an assistant professor in surgical specialties.

It is the support of the faculty, staff and students who make these events so successful, Dr. Harn said. He simply coordinates them.

But he’s more than just the coordinator to others.

“He’s the maestro,” said nominator Kim McFarland, D.D.S., assistant professor of oral biology. “Dr. Harn exemplifies what it means to be a health professional. His community service work has taken so many different forms — from dental day organizer to high school anatomy health professions recruiter to dental student mentor — and he does it all so selflessly.”

Dr. Harn’s first endeavors began in 1977 when he began collecting antique dental artifacts. What started as a single example of an 1800s era dental office, complete with chair, cabinet, and X-ray table, has grown to thousands of items representing every era of dentistry from 1850 to the present. The museum is one of the largest collections of dental artifacts in a public institution in the United States.

Dr. Harn shows several first year students the details of the human jaw.

His first foray into providing logistical support and coordination of the children’s dental health events and SHARING clinics began in 1988 when he and Gwen Hlava, a professor in dental hygiene, started the children’s dental health carnival.

This massive event saw 2,500 children and their parents come to the dental college for seven hours on a Saturday for education and fun. More than 400 volunteers were needed to run things.

“It was a great way to educate children and parents about the importance of oral health,” Dr. Harn said.

The carnival was held yearly until construction stopped it in 1996. It was replaced with Children’s Dental Health Day in 2001. Along with the educational component, the annual event now includes free dental care and cleanings for about 200 children.

The amount of work that goes into planning for a day like this takes a year of preparation. Dr. Harn makes sure the food is ordered, lines up the students who will serve lunch, play educational games with the children, provide dental service, or just shepherd the elementary students to the right places. He makes out the schedule for workflow and what groups of children go where, as well as helps with any other details that need attending to during the event.

He does it all again when, in June, the dental college takes the event to several communities in the Nebraska Panhandle.

And he wears a smile the whole time, Dr. Lange said.

“He truly loves what he does.”