Joan Louise Gilpin

The granite paver placed here honors Joan Louise Gilpin who was born in 1947 and grew up with her 10 brothers and sisters on a farm in northeastern Iowa. Joan is the mother of two children Nancy and Jeff who are both graduates of Iowa State University. Her husband Andy is a professor at the University of Northern Iowa.

Through her professional accomplishments Joan has provided a model of constant energy and dedication to educational and community activities. She completed her Masters of Arts degree in Community Health Education at the University of Northern Iowa. Since 1986 she has been an adjunct faculty member in the dental hygiene program at Hawkeye Community College. She has provided national and international educational programs for dental health professionals. Joan participated in the first Soviet-American Dental Hygiene Conference in Moscow in 1989 and the Sino-American Educational Conference in Beijing, China in 1991. She taught at the University of Stradins in Riga, Latvia in the summer of 1999. As a member of the International Federation of Dental Hygienists she has participated in oral health symposia in the Netherlands Italy and Australia. Joan has a special interest in the oral health concerns of underserved populations in Iowa.

She developed Sealants 2000 a volunteer community dental health program which received the Colgate/American Dental Hygienists' Association Community Outreach Award and the Iowa Governor's Volunteer Recognition Award. As a dental public health hygienist Joan works with the school-based dental sealant program which serves low-income high-risk children in Black Hawk County.

1/8/2004

Paver Inscription:

"Joan Louise Gilpin"