Dr. Bill Calnon Honored for Distinguished Service
William R. Calnon, DDS (GPR ’79), Eastman Foundation Board president, URMC trustee, professor and past EIOH interim director, was presented with the prestigious 2023 Dr. Mark J. Feldman Distinguished Service Award.
The award is the one of the highest honors of the New York State Dental Association, and is named after the beloved Dr. Feldman, the previous NYSDA executive director who died last year.
Dr. Calnon’s leadership and extraordinary service to advancing the profession are unparalleled. The breadth of his contributions to organized dentistry on the local and national levels is remarkable.
In 2012, Dr. Calnon was the first from Upstate New York to be named American Dental Association president since 1899, when Harvey J. Burkhart, the Rochester Dental Dispensary’s first director, served.
Dr. Calnon’s service with the ADA has been extensive. He served as a trustee on the ADA Board representing New York. He also served as a leadership representative at the National Summit on Diversity in Dentistry, was a member of the Council on Dental Practice, and served on multiple key committees since 1998.
A past president of the New York State Dental Association, the Seventh District Dental Society and Monroe County Dental Society, Dr. Calnon, who is a partner in a general dentistry practice in Chili, NY, is also a fellow of the American College of Dentists, the International College of Dentists and the Pierre Fauchard Academy.
Dr. Calnon has been the president of the Eastman Dental Foundation Board since 2009 and served as the EIOH interim director in 2012.
“I cannot think of a more deserving individual than Bill for this honor,” said Eli Eliav, DMD, PhD, EIOH director and professor. “He has devoted 35 years to leadership and advocacy, and we are grateful to benefit from his experience and wisdom.”
Calnon received his dental degree from the University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine in 1978. He completed his General Practice Residency in 1979 at what is now the Eastman Institute for Oral Health at the University of Rochester Medical Center.
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