Remembering An Icon: Dr. Jeanne C. Sinkford

She was one of four sisters who all went on to attend college. She said that her parents, a grandfather, and her experiences at a Catholic middle school contributed to her disciplined upbringing. Dr. Sinkford graduated from Dunbar High School in Washington, DC, at the age of 16, where she honed and developed her leadership skills as a member of the Cadet Corps.

Enrolling at Howard University at the age of 16, Dr. Sinkford studied Psychology and Chemistry and graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1955. Next, she entered the Howard University College of Dentistry (HUCD), completing her D.D.S. and graduating first in her dental school class. As the first woman to graduate first in a dental school class at Howard, this accomplishment landed her on the cover of Jet magazine in 1958.

As noted above, she went on to earn her M.S. and Ph.D. from Northwestern University, before completing a residency in pedodontics at Children's National Medical Center in 1975. Additionally, the same year, she made history as the first woman to serve as dean of a U.S. dental school, leading the HUCD from 1975 to 1991.

As the first woman dean of a U.S. dental school, Dr. Sinkford’s groundbreaking efforts empowered and help individuals from all backgrounds to advance to the pinnacle of their careers in dentistry and oral health education. Her efforts to advance the careers of oral health professionals spans cross the professions to include dentists, dental hygienists, deans, researchers, faculty, administrators and others.

Dr. Sinkford’s academic, research, leadership and service represent the hallmark of who she was as a person. She was a persistent advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion in oral health and oral health education, worked to reduce health inequities, and improve care for vulnerable groups. In 1998, she joined the American Dental Education Association (ADEA), serving as an Associate Executive Director and Founder and Director of ADEA’s Center for Equity and Diversity.

In 2015, she transitioned to an ADEA Senior Scholar-in-Residence where she developed and led programs such as the ADEA Enid A. Neidle Scholar Program and the ADEA International Women’s Leadership Conference. She also received a W.K. Kellogg Foundation grant, which supported and created institutional partnerships to better prepare historically underrepresented and marginalized individuals to enter academic dentistry and thrive as faculty.

Throughout her life, she continued to significantly influence oral health education and health care through her writings, research, presentations and advising. Always on the cutting edge, Dr. Sinkford was forward thinking and has had a resounding impact on the development of solutions to address 21st century challenges associated with health care and the academic health professions —integrated primary care, health disparities, pathways/pipelines to oral health education, artificial intelligence (AI)/innovation in oral health education, graduating future-ready oral health professionals and new models to transform oral health education and the related workforce.

Dr. Sinkford has served on numerous committees and advisory councils of national and international significance and published more than 100 articles in scholarly publications. She wrote an instructional manual for Crown and Bridge Prosthodontics. Her passion project and a pivotal work, includes the 2021 book, Undaunted Trailblazers: Minority Women Leaders for Oral Health, a collection of 31 inspiring stories of triumph and achievement, that she co-authored with Drs. Sheila S. Price and Marilyn P. Woolfolk. Another pivotal work includes the 2022 Journal of Dental Education article, “Gender equality in the 21st century: Overcoming barriers to women's leadership in global health,” co-authored with Dr. Sonya G. Smith. As of October 2025, their article has 48,000 plus full-text views/downloads—more than any other peer-reviewed article in the history of the JDE. Additionally, Dr. Sinkford’s oral history is included in The History Makers Collection, housed in the Library of Congress.

Dr. Sinkford’s many awards include Alumni Achievement Awards from Northwestern University and Howard University, one of the first Candace Awards from the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, the Award of Merit from the American Fund for Dental Health, the Trailblazer Award from the National Dental Association (NDA) and the Herbert W. Nickens Award from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). In 2010, she received the Pierre Fauchard Gold Medal Award and in 2022 was inducted into their “Hall of Fame of Dentistry,” which is reserved for principal researchers in the field of dentistry.

In 2015, she was presented with an ADEAGies Foundation^® William J. Gies Award for Vision, Innovation and Achievement for Outstanding Vision by a Dental Educator and received the American Dental Association (ADA)’s Distinguished Service Award. In 2017, Dr. Sinkford received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American College of Dentists. In 2023, she received the ADEA Distinguished Service Award.

Additionally, there are currently three ADEA awards presented each year in her name — the ADEA/Colgate Oral Pharmaceuticals, Inc./National Dental Association Dr. Jeanne C. Sinkford Scholar in the ADEA Leadership Institute Award, the ADEA Dr. Jeanne C. Sinkford Faculty Leadership Award and the ADEA Dr. Jeanne C. Sinkford Student Leadership Award.

Dr. Sinkford received numerous honorary doctorate degrees — the former Georgetown University School of Dentistry, the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Meharry Medical College, the University of Detroit-Mercy, the University of Michigan and Howard University. She was an ADA lifetime member and was also presented with NDA lifetime membership. Because of her outstanding professional contributions and work, she was also elected to the Institute of Medicine, now the National Academy of Medicine and a distinct body within the larger National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.