Unfortunately, this will be the last year Prof. Richard Simonsen will be the Dean of our College of Dental Medicine at the University of Sharjah. The purpose of this petition is to pursue Prof. Richard as well as the decision makers of the University of Sharjah to keep Prof. Simonsen as the Dean of our College until at least October 2016.

It is very sad to see one of the iconic personalities in dentistry responsible for the advent or development of many of the materials we use nowadays including but not limited to the use of Preventive Resin Restorations (PRR), bonding of ceramic and the use of Fissure Sealants, to name a few, leave our college and no longer be involved or be part of the faculty of the College of Dental Medicine.

Why would you sign this petition?

Prof Richard Simonsen is the idol many students in our college look up to. He treats all his students like his children and does not discriminate between them in any way. He cares for them and tries his best to make sure they have the best out there in order to become successful, highly qualified professionals in the dental field. He is also one of the very few people in the world in his position that supports students to the extent that he treats them like colleagues and does not allow them to be treated unfairly. He believes in the student body and gives everyone the opportunity to learn and enjoy their five years under the roof of the College of Dental Medicine and the UDHS by pushing everyone to realize their utmost potential, with his vision brought forward to the students through the efforts of the faculty who form the link between him and the students of the College. Not only that, but his unconditional support to the USDSA allowed many new events to happen in the past two years.

Even though he has been at the helm of our college for less than two years, he found his way to the heart of most students and left a print on the minds of many of us and on the college itself making changes that were not possible under the command of his predecessors since the start of the college’s life in 2005. When talking about his views on students to the Dental Tribune Middle East, he said “We exist for them and we should not go back to the old days when students were regarded as a lower form of life until one day they graduated and became instant colleagues!”

The milestones reached by our college since Prof. Simonsen joined:

1. Achieving full accreditation for the College od Dental Medicine

2. Celebrating the milestone by offering lovely cupcakes for everyone

3. Implementing the AxiUm system which digitizes the filing system in our Dental Hospital

4. Starting the Graduation Dinner Ceremony for seniors at the end of every year to enjoy a dinner with their parents and faculty

5. Established a partnership with the Midwestern University, College of Dental Medicine allowing students to go for exchange

6. Introduction of the International Speaker Day where we had the opportunity to attend a wonderful lecture by Dr. James Swift

7. Keeping labs open for everyone at all times allowing students to practice at any time of the day from 8 am to 10 pm in order to master the skills of their future profession

8. Extending the capacity of preclinical labs by adding about 40 new state of the art phantom chairs

9. Keeping the College open till 10 pm so people can use it to study when the library is too busy or too loud

10. Opening a much needed prayer room for the girls in College

11. Renovating Clinic D for the interns making it a much more pleasant experience for both the interns and patients

12. Providing an improved student lounge in the Dental Hospital

13. Expanding the capacity of the classrooms by joining room 08 and 09 in the College into one big classroom with a state of the art projector used in top conference facilities

14. Renewed the computers in the computer lab for students to use

15. Students in preclinical Endodontics no longer use analog x-ray films and rely solely on digital films, saving time and effort

16. Approved the USDSA student exchange program which already hosted three students from Czech Republic and Poland

17. Supported many great events under the name of the USDSA including but not limited to the International Students’ Dental Conference, Costume Night, Ethnic Day, Breast Cancer Awareness Day and the Winter Trips to Turkey and Spain

This might seem like a long list, but surely some achievements were not mentioned because there are so many to remember and surely some changes were made to the better in the backstage of our College, which were unnoticed. Certainly, under the presence of anyone else, not many of these achievements would be accomplished in a mere one and a half years and the best part is that this is just the beginning to many more changes Prof. Simonsen can offer in order to improve the College and the experience of students now and in the years to come. So ,why not give him the opportunity of finishing what he started by adding one more year at the University of Sharjah to be the highlight of his glamorous résumé?

Prof Richard Simonsen IS NOT taking part, influencing or supporting the petition in any way and this attempt is solely made by students in the Dental College. The only reason to sign the petition is if you want Prof Simonsen to stay in the college as the Dean of the College of Dental Medicine