W. Mark Tucker, DDS, named 2015 College of Dentistry Outstanding Alumnus at The University of Tennessee Health Science Center

“Alumni like Dr. Mark Tucker serve as standard-bearers for our college as well as for the entire dental profession,” said Timothy Hottel, DDS, MS, MBA, dean of the UTHSC College of Dentistry. “Throughout his career, he has demonstrated a solid commitment to leadership, service, and the highest quality patient care. His life’s work in private practice, caring for veterans, and pursuing research serve as examples for our students to both admire and follow. It is a distinct pleasure for us to acknowledge Mark as the 2015 College of Dentistry Outstanding Alumnus.”

Dr. Tucker knew the profession he wanted to pursue at an early age. He and his family visited his uncle, Alg Ramsey, DDS ’58, when Ramsey was a dental student at UTHSC.

“He had his skull box at home for study. He showed it to me, and I was enthralled,” Dr. Tucker said. He decided at that moment that he wanted to be a dentist.

Following in his uncle’s footsteps, Tucker attended UTHSC and obtained his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree in December 1966. Dr. Tucker went on to complete his oral and maxillofacial surgery residency at the University of Texas Dental Branch at Houston and the Houston Veterans’ Affairs Medical Center. He also fulfilled a maxillofacial surgery fellowship in North Wales, United Kingdom.

Dr. Tucker began his practice as a general dentist at the Hampton VA Medical Center in Virginia in 1968. He was named chief of the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Section at James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital in Tampa, Florida, in June 1972 and remained in the post until December 2009.

For more than 20 years, Dr. Tucker served as a consultant for six private and three federal hospitals located throughout Florida. He was a member of the charter faculty of the University of South Florida College of Medicine and has served for many years as Hillsborough County Associate Medical Examiner for forensic odontology. He has made more than 240 scientific presentations, written or contributed to more than 30 scientific journal articles, and participated in clinical research.

Dr. Tucker is no stranger to leadership. He is a past president of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. He also held leadership positions in the Florida Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons and the Hillsborough County Dental Research Clinic. Tucker holds fellowships in the American College of Dentistry and the International College of Dentists. In addition, he is a diplomate of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and the National Dental Board of Anesthesiology.

Since his retirement from James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital, Dr. Tucker has served as the oral and maxillofacial surgeon at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa.

As Tennessee’s only public, statewide, academic health system, the mission of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center is to bring the benefits of the health sciences to the achievement and maintenance of human health, with a focus on the citizens of Tennessee and the region, by pursuing an integrated program of education, research, clinical care, and public service. Offering a broad range of postgraduate and selected baccalaureate training opportunities, the main UTHSC campus is located in Memphis and includes six colleges: Dentistry, Graduate Health Sciences, Health Professions, Medicine, Nursing, and Pharmacy. UTHSC also educates and trains cohorts of medicine, pharmacy, and/or health professions students — in addition to medical residents and fellows — at its major sites in Knoxville, Chattanooga and Nashville. Since its founding in 1911, UT Health Science Center has educated and trained more than 57,000 health care professionals in academic settings and health care facilities across the state. For more information, visit www.uthsc.edu.Follow us on Facebook: facebook.com/uthsc, on Twitter: twitter.com/uthsc, and on Instagram: instagram.com/uthsc.