Florida A&M Moving Forward With Plans for a Dental School

James H. Ammons, president of Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, is moving forward with plans for the university to establish a College of Dental Medicine. His goal is to have a plan ready for approval by the Florida Board of Governors and the state legislature early next year.

Ammons notes that only 24 percent of the children on Medicaid in Florida receive adequate dental care. This is one of the lowest rates in the nation.

The University of Central Florida is also planning to submit a proposal for a new dental school next year. At the current time, the only state-run dental school is at the University of Florida.

If the Florida A&M dental school moves forward, it will be the first new dental school at a historically black university in 130 years.