Dr. Moe and Dr. Jennifer Momen
A $100,000 gift from Drs. Moe and Jennifer Momen to the West Virginia University School of Dentistry will enrich the educational experience for dental students through the creation of a new endowed lecture series. The gift provides resources to recruit distinguished oral health professionals as speakers to share their expertise with the next generation of dentists.
Named the Dr. Jerry Bouquot Visiting Lecture Series for Dentistry, it honors the clinical professor and world-renowned oral pathologist who has taught for more than 50 years, mostly at WVU.
“Dr. Bouquot was an incredible mentor to me during my time at the WVU School of Dentistry as well as during my pediatric residency at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh,” Moe Momen said. “On behalf of his many students over the years, we want to acknowledge Dr. Bouquot’s contribution to dental education and extend our heartfelt thanks.”
Momen, a 1991 graduate of the School of Dentistry, and his wife were compelled to give as a tribute to the highly regarded faculty member.
"Whenever Moe speaks about his time in dental school, the conversation frequently includes Dr. Bouquot,” Jennifer Momen, director of the School of Medicine’s Physician Assistant Studies program, said. “It is clear that Dr. Bouqout instilled in his students a passion for learning and that he treated his students as colleagues deserving of his time and attention.”
Bouquot has been a faculty member twice at the School of Dentistry and served in an adjunct role.
“My professional and personal lives have been dramatically impacted by my contact with WVU students and my longstanding relationships with so many of them,” Bouquot said. “I’ve watched them grow and grow, continue to improve themselves and their professional skills, and always care intensely and personally about their patients, their profession and their communities, especially their state and alumni organizations as well as the WVU School of Dentistry itself. The school nurtured them and instilled not only a strong work ethic but a goal of doing their very best, day in and day out. It’s not easy, but it’s what our students do.”
Bouquot has discovered and named over 40 diseases; published more than 340 papers, abstracts, books and book chapters; and peer-reviewed more than 1,500 scientific papers for over 40 journals.
“I can honestly say that I’ve been trained by some of the very best teachers in the oral pathology world, but that is nothing compared to watching my own students become ‘giants’ of their own and some of my greatest friends,” Bouquot said. “Drs. Moe and Jennifer Momen exemplify this so very well, and I thank them so much for honoring me with their remarkable gift to the WVU School of Dentistry. I am completely humbled by their generosity and their thoughtfulness.”
Bouquot’s work has been translated into numerous languages and used by state and national governments to determine oral health policy.
“Dr. Bouquot has devoted his life to research and teaching dental students and practicing dentists both nationally and internationally,” Moe said. “He is an exemplary individual, and I have a profound respect and admiration for him. Though he has an international reputation, he shares his knowledge in a humble manner.”
The Momens consider the gift a token of appreciation on behalf of all students who have been taught or mentored by Bouquot. They hope the endowment makes a difference for many years to come.
“This endowed lectureship is our way of paying tribute to Dr. Bouquot, an educator who demonstrates a love of the humanities that intersects with science,” Moe said. “It is our hope that faculty, alumni and students who attend the lectures will use their enhanced knowledge to improve the oral health of West Virginians.”
The Momens reside in Bridgeport, where Moe specializes in pediatric and adolescent dentistry at his private practice.
The Momens are also School of Dentistry scholarship supporters. Their gifts were made through the WVU Foundation, the nonprofit organization that receives and administers private donations on behalf of the University.