A.T. Still University, Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health, Dean

Desmond “Des” Gallagher, BDS, MA, has been named Dean of the Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health. 

Gallagher currently serves as associate dean for clinical services and previously as the executive associate dean and chair of the Department of Clinical Oral Healthcare at the University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry in San Francisco, California. 

He earned his dental degree from the University of Wales College of Medicine School of Dentistry in 1994. He began his dental and military career as a general dentistry and anesthesiology program resident in Germany. During his seven years of active service, Gallagher undertook several operational tours, including command and leadership of combined medical/dental assets. After military service, he established a dental office. He undertook a two-year diploma in clinical dentistry at Trinity College Dublin School of Dentistry before starting to teach as a part-time clinical instructor. In 2012, he joined the Dugoni School of Dentistry as a group practice leader and was course director for the dental urgent care clinic and clinical application of evidence-based dentistry.

Gallagher completed an MA in dental education with the University of the Pacific in 2016. He is completing an EdD at the same institution, with a research focus on interprofessional collaborative care. He has previously served as a California Dental Board examiner for portfolio licensure and is an examiner for the License in Dental Surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons of England and a CODA site visitor. He has been recognized with the Associated Student Body Award for teaching excellence and received the Dugoni Dental Faculty Council Distinguished Faculty Award in 2022. 

Jay Torio led this search with Samuel Ruth and Kristin Benoit.