Hartley scholarship will support future rural dentists

By Alyssa Glazener

A need in rural communities

“I’m hoping to help MUSC students with their large tuition burdens because when I went through dental school, the state of South Carolina picked up most of the tuition. I’ve always felt very strongly that because I’ve been successful, I should give back to MUSC, who helped me gain that success,” said Dan Hartley, D.M.D., Class of 1973.

Together with his wife, Patricia, he established the new Dan and Patricia Hartley Scholarship, which will primarily support James B. Edwards College of Dental Medicine students who intend to practice dentistry in a rural community.

Over 27% of South Carolina residents live in rural areas. Of the state’s 46 counties, 17 have an insufficient supply of dentists to meet the needs of their communities and are designated by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration as dental health professional shortage areas.

As South Carolina’s only dental school, the College of Dental Medicine is an important source of dentists. While approximately 75% of recent graduates have chosen to remain in South Carolina, many opt for urban areas.

“Through this scholarship, we hope to encourage students to practice in rural settings,” Hartley said.

Pay It Forward

The college launched the Pay It Forward scholarship campaign in 2019 with a $10 million goal. After many years of partnering with alumni and friends to construct and renovate state-of-the-art facilities, our focus moving forward is student scholarships. We are grateful for the donations to date of more than $3.2 million!

For more information about how you can endow a scholarship, contact director of development Stephanie Oberempt at 843-345-8579 or oberempt@musc.edu.