Charles Goodacre, DDS’71, MSD, is the 2015 recipient of the “Omicron Kappa Upsilon Stephen H. Leeper Award for Teaching Excellence."
The annual honor recognizes an individual who has shown innovation in teaching and significant contributions to dental education at their center of oral health care instruction as well as to the entire dental education community.
After graduating from dental school, Dr. Goodacre completed a three-year combined program in Prosthodontics and Dental Materials at Indiana University School of Dentistry where, in 1974, he earned his MSD degree.
In announcing Dr. Goodacre’s award, OKU abstracted his professional and pedagogical contributions to dental education in general and prosthodontics in particular:
He served as chair, Department of Prosthodontics, at Indiana University School of Dentistry, until his appointment as dean, Loma Linda University School of Dentistry from 1994 to 2013. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Prosthodontics, past president of the American Board of Prosthodontics, past president of the American College of Prosthodontics, and past president of the Academy of Prosthodontics.
Dr. Goodacre’s awards for contributions to research and education in prosthodontics are numerous. He received the Educator of the Year Award from the American College of Prosthodontics in 2003, The George H. Moulton Award from the American Academy of Fixed Prosthodontics in 2005, The Jerome M. and Dorothy Schweitzer Research Award from the Greater New York Academy of Prosthodontics in 2007, the William J. Gies Award in 2008 from the American Dental Education Association for Outstanding Innovation as a Dental Educator, and the Gold Medallion Award from the American Prosthodontics Society in 2010. In 2011 he received Honorary Fellowship in the Faculty of Dentistry of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and also the Distinguished Service Award from the American College of Prosthodontics. He was awarded the Distinguished Lecturer Award in 2012 from the American College of Prosthodontics and in 2013 he received the Distinguished Lecturer Award from the Greater New York Academy of Prothodontics Foundation. And in November 2014 he was awarded the Dan Gordon Lifetime Achievement Award from the American College of Prosthodontists.
Dr. Goodacre served as editor of the International Journal of Prosthodontics for ten years. He has over 100 publications and has given more than 400 invited presentations. He has been a principal investigator or co-investigator on twenty-four externally funded research grants. Since 1974, he has maintained a part time private practice limited to prosthodontics since 1974.
He is a founding board member of the Foundation for Oral Rehabilitation (FOR.org) and serves as a consultant for Global Dental Sciences, the company that developed and introduced the first totally digital process of fabricating complete dentures and implant prostheses.