Scholarship Fund Honors Memory of Jean Lewis, Tunxis Professor of Dental Hygiene Lewis Was Resident of Newtown

For Immediate Release Contact: Leigh E. Knopf, APR, Director of Marketing and Public Relations 4 September 2003 Tele.: 860.679.9552; Fax: 679.9677; e-mail: [email protected]

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Scholarship Fund Honors Memory of Jean Lewis, Tunxis professor of dental hygiene Lewis was resident of Newtown

Contributions are now being accepted to the “D. Jean Lewis Memorial Scholarship Fund,” established by Tunxis Community College Foundation in honor of the College’s professor of dental hygiene, who passed away in August at age 71.

“The fund was set up in esteem of Jean’s life and her many achievements at Tunxis Community College and in the community,” said Colleen Keyes, Tunxis dean of academic affairs. Contributions will fund student scholarships at the College.

A graduate of Columbia University and Yale University, Lewis retired from the University of Bridgeport in 1985, joining the faculty of Tunxis Community College in 1987. Tunxis Community College conducts a community-based teaching program that enables students to work and study in dental clinics around the state, under supervision of faculty. These clinics are the first line of oral health care for thousands of uninsured patients.

While at Tunxis, Lewis served in many community outreach programs providing dental hygiene to underprivileged children. Among the sites for these programs were Hartford Public Schools; New Britain Public Schools; Hospital for Special Care, New Britain; Connecticut Children's Medical Center, Pediatric AIDS Unit; Foster Care, New Britain and Bristol areas; Day Care Centers in Bristol, Terryville, Plymouth; Head Start Programs, Hartford and New Britain areas; and The Upper Room, New Britain.

Lewis’ many professional activities included positions with Connecticut Dental Hygiene Association as past president and past legislative chair, and she was a delegate to the National Dental Hygiene Convention. Lewis was conferred the Mable C. McCarthy Award for her outstanding contribution to the profession of dental hygiene.

Checks to the “D. Jean Lewis Memorial Scholarship Fund” may be sent to Tunxis Community College Foundation, 271 Scott Swamp Road, Farmington, Connecticut 06032. For more information, please call 860.679.9526. Visit Tunxis on the Internet at tunxis.commnet.edu.

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The Late D. Jean Lewis, Professor of Dental Hygiene