Posted on April 27, 2001 at 11:10 a.m.

BIRMINGHAM, AL — Dr. Peter D. Waite was appointed the second holder of the Charles A. McCallum Chair of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. The appointment was made during the recent meeting of the University of Alabama Board of Trustees. The endowed chair was first established in 1985.

Waite is currently a professor and chair of the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Department at UAB School of Dentistry and assistant professor of the Department of Surgery in the School of Medicine.

Waite received his D.D.S. degree from the University of Minnesota in 1979 and an M.D. from UAB in 1983, followed by postdoctoral training at UAB in general surgery and oral and maxillofacial surgery. He joined the School of Dentistry in 1985 as an assistant professor in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and advanced his way through the ranks to assume professorship and then chair of the department in 1994. Concurrently, he joined the School of Medicine's Department of Surgery in 1985 as assistant professor and was promoted to associate professor.

Throughout his career he has sought to expand the scope of dentistry, specifically oral and maxillofacial surgery through teaching, research and patient care activities. He has served as director of the residency training program for the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery from 1988 to 1995 and teaches both pre- and postdoctoral dental courses. He was the first recipient of the Fred Henny Fellowship and has pursued research in mesenchymal dysplasia, alloplastic grafting, surgical treatments of obstructive sleep apnea and cosmetic facial surgery. He maintains visiting professorship status in Germany and strong professional and academic relationships in Japan, Korea, Thailand, Brazil, Sweden and Canada. He is active in numerous professional organizations.