Dentistry Research Faculty Create Scholarship for First-gen Students

The husband-and-wife team of Iain Morgan, Ph.D., director of the Philips Institute for Oral Health Research at the VCU School of Dentistry, and Oonagh Loughran, Ph.D., the school’s associate dean for graduate studies, have created a scholarship for first-generation dental students.  

They leaned on their own experiences as guidance.  

Drs. Morgan and Loughran, from Scotland and Ireland, respectively, said that unlike their parents’ generations, shifting cultural changes and social mobility in their countries offered new opportunities to them.    

Dr. Morgan’s father left school at age 14 to work in a factory, and his mother left at 15 to work as a seamstress.  

“But as soon as they saw things change in society, with the government offering scholarships to pursue education,” Dr. Morgan said, “my mother encouraged me to take advantage of that.”  

Dr. Loughran echoed those thoughts. 

“My mother knew what she missed by not being able to finish school,” she said. “When it came time for my own education, she advocated for my pathway to college. She put in our minds that we’re going to go to college and be successful and change our life’s trajectory.”  

Dr. Loughran acknowledges that today’s students — particularly professional students such as those seeking to be dentists — face a harder time navigating higher education.  

“It’s so much more expensive, and with that prospect of debt and a lack of support,” she said, “it can be daunting.” 

Dr. Morgan said if it were not for a scholarship, he would not have been able to continue his education. The Oonagh Loughran, Ph.D., and Iain Morgan, Ph.D., Scholarship pays that opportunity forward.  

Simply put: “It’s the feeling that someone cares,” he said.  

If you would like to support the VCU School of Dentistry, please contact Gloria Callihan, the school’s associate dean for development and alumni relations, at 804-828-8101 or gfcallihan@vcu.edu.