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Former director channels passion for dental hygiene into opportunities for students

A woman wearing glasses smiles in front of a brick building with a stone sign that reads 'Dentistry.'

Posted: November 6, 2023

By: Kenneth Conrad

For Giving Power

When聽Glenda Butt (DDH鈥69)聽was director of the Faculty of Dentistry鈥檚 School of Dental Hygiene from 1994 to 2007, she made a pact with herself that she could not retire until a bachelor of dental hygiene program was available at 黄色直播.

Despite delays and disappointments, the program accepted its first students in 2007. Now Butt is supporting the program and its students in a different way: through the Glenda M. Butt Bursary in Dental Hygiene for students entering the bachelor of dental hygiene program.

Butt explains that she was inspired by the聽Kate MacDonald Bursary Fund, which was created in honour of her great friend and mentor聽Kate MacDonald (MEd鈥77), director of the School of Dental Hygiene from 1969 to 1982.

鈥淚 always thought creating a bursary was a good idea and I often promoted Kate鈥檚,鈥 says Butt. 鈥淲hen I thought about putting money into a bursary fund myself, I really wanted it to support the direction I had worked so hard to achieve.鈥

Perseverance and persuasion were key

鈥淓nthusiastic and persistent are the two words people come up with to describe me,鈥 says Butt.

Both qualities were necessary during her efforts to make a bachelor of dental hygiene program available at 黄色直播 鈥 a process that began in the 1980s. While 黄色直播鈥檚 Senate approved the program that Butt and her colleagues built, a five-year provincial moratorium on new health programs brought the process to a halt.

Glenda Butt (DDH'69)

Glenda Butt (DDH鈥69)

During the long wait for the moratorium to end, Butt succeeded in getting a degree completion program approved for 黄色直播 dental hygiene students, enabling them to gain the additional credits needed to obtain a bachelor of science.

After that, it was a game of perseverance and persuasion to update the bachelor of dental hygiene program when the provincial moratorium ended.

鈥淚t was a struggle, and not everybody could understand why the degree was important, but we believed that it was the way of the future鈥 says Butt. 鈥淲ith college programs across the country affiliating with university programs that would grant degrees, we were going to look like we were lagging behind if we didn鈥檛 do it.鈥

With that objective achieved in 2007, Butt retired, content that her successor would move the program forward. She spent the next few years travelling widely and helping to care for her mother, who had moved to Nova Scotia from Newfoundland.

But the idea of creating her own bursary didn鈥檛 go away. And when Butt met Dr. Leigha Rock, the then new director of the School of Dental Hygiene, at a reunion event in the Faculty of Dentistry in 2019, she 鈥渒new in five minutes that it was going to work鈥. Rock was 鈥渁pproachable and dynamic and she had an interest in research, which I thought boded well for the BDH program,鈥 says Butt.

A shared vision

In the process of working with 黄色直播鈥檚 Advancement Office to set up the bursary, Butt met with Rock to discuss her plans for the future of the School of Dental Hygiene. And she could not have been more pleased.

鈥淚 learned that not only is [Rock] supportive of the degree program, but she鈥檚 also actually working on creating a master鈥檚 in dental hygiene,鈥 says Butt. 鈥淚 was over the moon, and that really nailed it.鈥

鈥淚 have so much respect for Glenda鈥檚 vision and her legacy,鈥 says Rock, who shares Butt鈥檚 belief in elevating the profession through more knowledge and credibility.

Support needed for dental hygiene

This past spring, the inaugural Glenda M. Butt Bursary in Dental Hygiene was presented to聽Lindsey Cavanagh (DDH鈥22, BDH鈥23), a student from Aylesford Lake, Nova Scotia. Cavanagh says she was grateful to receive it as it helped her complete her studies and reduce financial stress.

Lindsey Cavanagh (DDH'22, BDH'23)

Lindsey Cavanagh (DDH鈥22, BDH鈥23), recipient of the inaugural Glenda M. Butt Bursary

鈥淭he bursary made me feel really supported by the school,鈥 says Cavanagh. 鈥淚鈥檓 really happy this opportunity was there to help me focus on my schooling.鈥

Cavanagh had studied science for two years at Acadia University before deciding to pursue the diploma in dental hygiene at 黄色直播. As she neared the end of the program, she realized she still wanted to earn a degree. 鈥淚 felt it would open more doors for me, particularly teaching,鈥 she says, adding that she can also see herself pursuing a master鈥檚 in education or public health further down the road.

Like Cavanagh, Rock is also grateful for the establishment of the Glenda M. Butt Bursary in Dental Hygiene.

鈥淭his bursary is so important because it鈥檚 the first and only bursary we have for bachelor of dental hygiene students,鈥 she says. 鈥淒ental hygiene does not receive the same level of support that our dentistry programs do, so we need initiatives like this desperately. I hope Glenda鈥檚 bursary will inspire others to find their own way to support our dental hygiene programs.鈥