Russel Alexander Dixon
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Russel Alexander Dixon (February 24, 1898 – January 3, 1976) was the first African-American to earn an advanced degree in dentistry from Northwestern University and the first African American dean of Howard University College of Dentistry.[1] He was the longest serving dean in dental education, with a 35 year tenure from 1931 to 1966.[1]
Early life and education[edit]
Russel A. Dixon was born on February 24, 1898, in Kansas City, Missouri to father, William James Dixon, and mother Lillie Belle Tribue Dixon.[2] He attended Hampton Institute from 1919 to 1920,[1] but switched to Ferris Institute, where he completed an undergraduate degree from 1920 to 1924.[2] In 1929 he received his Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) degree from Northwestern University Dental School.[2] Furthermore, in 1933 he became the first African American to earn a Masters of Science in Dentistry from Northwestern University.[1][2] In 1965, Dixon received an Honorary Doctorate from Ferris State University.[1]
Howard University School of Dentistry[edit]
Dixon became part of the Howard Dental School faculty in 1929 and was appointed Acting Dean of Howard Dental School in 1931.[3][2] He was later appointed and remained dean until his retirement in 1966.[1] During his tenure he contributed greatly to the curriculum, enrolment requirements, academic preparation of the dental faculty, and planning of a new dental building.[2] He was committed to racial integration and gender equality in dental education.[2] By 1960, more than half of the US's 1,681 African American dentists were graduates of the Howard University College of Dentistry.[4]
Professional organizations and contributions[edit]
Dixon served many administrative and academic positions throughout his career.[2][1] In 1949 he was appointed president of the PanAmerican Odontological Society and the National Dental Association.[2] He served on the Executive Council of the American Association of Dental Schools from 1953 to 1967.[2] In 1963, President John F. Kennedy appointed him to a four-year term as a member of the Board of Regents of the National Library of Medicine.[1][2] He was a member of the Board of Overseers Visiting Committee of Harvard University for the Schools of Medicine and Dental Medicine and of the Special Advisory Group of the Veterans Administration.[2] He was a founding member and former president of the Pi Pi Chapter of Omicron Kappa Upsilon.[3]
Dixon was a member of the Lincoln Memorial Congregational Temple of the United Church of Christ. He held a number of positions with the national organization, including chairman of the Missions Council of the Congregational Christian Churches of America.[5]
Personal life and death[edit]
Dixon was married to Carolyn Dixon (née Kealing). The couple had two sons, one of whom attended both Howard University College of Dentistry and Northwestern University.[3]
Dixon died after suffering a heart attack on January 3, 1976, at the age of 77 in Silver Spring, Maryland.[6][1]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Russell A. Dixon - 2017 - Question of the Month - Jim Crow Museum". www.ferris.edu. Retrieved 2022-02-15.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Dummett, Clifton O. (1989). "Medical History: A historical perspective of thirteen unheralded contributors to medicodental progress". Journal of the National Medical Association. 81 (3): 307–320. PMC 2571621. PMID 2651678.
- ^ a b c "Dixon Nominated as Regent of National Library of Medicine" (PDF). Journal of the National Medical Association. 55 (6): 562. November 1963. PMC 2642430 – via PubMed.
- ^ Johnson, John H. (January 1960). "Howard Dental School: More than half of U.S. Negro dentists are its graduates". Ebony: 21.
- ^ "Dr. Russell Dixon, 77, Dies; Howard U. Dentistry Dean". The Evening Star. 6 January 1976. p. 25. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
- ^ "Dr. R. Dixon, Howard Dean Emeritus, Dies". Jet Magazine. January 22, 1976. p. 44. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
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