Joy-Thomas wins Freeman Award for Faculty Teaching

Professor Anita Joy-Thomas, BDS, PhD, has been named the 2025 recipient of the John H. Freeman Award for Faculty Teaching at UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry.

Chosen by first- and second-year dental students, the Freeman Award recognizes excellence in preclinical teaching. Joy-Thomas was honored during the School of Dentistry’s annual DDS Senior Awards in late April.

This award follows Joy-Thomas’ recent garnering of the American Dental Education Association/Colgate Oral Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Excellence in Teaching Award, bestowed last March at the 2024 ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition.

Joy-Thomas’ teaching philosophy revolves around the core components of distilling information for her students in ways relevant to their practice, modeling high standards of professional practices and behaviors, having an openness to adapt teaching methods and appropriate technology for the student population, and effectively communicating with her students.

She regards several individuals in her life as influencers in her teaching journey, spanning from her own family to the School of Dentistry faculty, whom she describes as the silent architects of her success in academia.

“My teaching influencers have included both my own grandmothers, who were both high school teachers,” she said. “Their lived examples taught me the sheer joy of sharing knowledge, nurturing curious minds, and watching the learner grow.

“My high school history teacher and my mentor from dental school, who was an oral pathology professor, have also been very influential in my teaching journey. There are also several School of Dentistry faculty whom I look up to and borrow teaching strategies from.”

Joy-Thomas holds a Bachelor of Dental Surgery from M.S. Ramaiah Dental College and Hospital in Bangalore, India, and a doctorate in anatomy and cell biology from Rush University in Chicago.

She joined the School of Dentistry faculty in 2019 following her departure from a tenured position as associate professor, director of research, and department chair at Southern Illinois University School of Dental Medicine.

Above anyone else, she thanks her students for helping her achieve this award. She believes she must honor their thirst for learning by encouraging discussion, creating engaging activities, remaining available and prompt with feedback, and visibly modeling lifelong learning.

“My students deserve all the credit for any award or recognition I might receive,” she said. “They are not only my professional legacy but also the sparks that I am lighting to brighten our profession and the world. The more I engage with my students, the more my thoughts converge into a single conviction: that the finest teaching is reciprocal.”

“I enter each session prepared to share knowledge, yet I depart every time having learned from my students’ curiosity, and that quiet exchange sustains my growth far more than any award or recognition.”

Joy-Thomas is primarily involved with teaching first-year dental and dental hygiene students, including all courses in the anatomical sciences. She also teaches in the Clinical Applications I and II courses and a few other foundational courses.

In addition to her work inside the classroom, she is also the department chair of Diagnostic and Biomedical Sciences.

The Freeman Award comes with a cash prize. Award winners include:

• Anita Joy-Thomas, BDS, PhD, 2025
• Vuvi Nguyen, MS, PhD, 2024, 2020, 2018
• Juliana A. Barros, DDS, MS, 2023
• Harold Kolodney Jr., DMD, 2022
• Michele White, DDS, 2021
• Ashley Clark, DDS, 2019
• Raymond Koeppen, DDS, MS, MBA, 2017, 2012
• Robert Spears, PhD, 2016
• Carla Rogers, PhD, 2015
• Shelly Patel, DDS, 2014
• Yasmine Haddad, DDS, PhD, 2013
• Ryan Quock, DDS, 2011
• Gary Frey, DDS, 2010, 2004
• William Tate, DDS, 2009, 2007, 2002, 1991, 1989
• Robert (Rod) Dosch, DDS, 2008, 2003, 2000, 1998
• James Ferguson, DDS, 2006
• Barry Rittman, MS, PhD, 2005
• Franz S. F. Mong, PhD, 2001, 1997, 1992, 1990, 1988, 1986, 1984
• Kenneth Porter, DDS, 1999
• John McMahon, PhD, 1996, 1987
• Mary (Cindy) Farach-Carson, PhD, 1995
• Gene Stevenson, DDS, MS, 1994
• Kathleen Gibson, PhD, 1993
• James Newland, DDS, MS, 1985
• Philip Pierpont, DDS, 1983
• Matthew Seals, DDS, 1982
• Richard Madden, DDS, MS, 1981
• Rodney Beetar, DDS, MS, 1980
• William Radentz, DDS, 1979
• Thomas Wild, DDS, 1978