Shannon O’Dell retires
On 06/15/2021, the University of Michigan School of Dentistry Sindecuse Museum of Dentistry’s Director and Curator, Shannon O’Dell, will be retiring after promoting the field’s history for 18 years.
Her career has stretched over 25 years and has included positions as Curator of the Dewitt Historical Society of Tompkins County in Ithaca, New York and the Preservation Resource Coordinator for the University of Michigan Library before landing at the Sindecuse Museum as Assistant Curator and then gaining a promotion to her current role in 2004. Through her guidance, dedication, and vision, the Sindecuse Museum features professional rotating exhibits in our atrium, a revamped website, a searchable online artifact database, and dedicated professional staff. She was the president of the Medical Museums Association from 2015-2017 and, in 2016, was inducted as an honorary member of the Sigma Phi Alpha Nu chapter sorority for which she was recognized for the Sindecuse Museum’s Dental Hygiene exhibit which highlights the accomplishments of the field and for stimulating interest in the profession. In 2017, she was recently honored with the prestigious Hayden-Harris Award by the American Academy of the History of Dentistry (AAHD) for distinguished contributions to the history of dentistry. She has also been published in the University of Michigan Press’ “Object Lessons & The Formation of Knowledge: The University of Michigan Museums, Libraries, and Collections 1817-2017” (2017) in which she illuminated the history of the School of Dentistry’s various library and museum iterations.
David Chernin, executive director of the AAHD, said it best when speaking about Shannon, "She has created …not only a museum for the collection and preservation of dental objects and materials of historical and cultural significance [but] has [also] developed a unique entity for education, scientific inquiry and public enlightenment.”
While we are sad to see her go, we are excited for her upcoming retirement and are eternally grateful for the tireless work she did to promote the Sindecuse Museum, the School of Dentistry, and the broader field of dentistry through her leadership.
This post has had minor edits since it was first shared in the May MMA Review by the Michigan Museums Association.