Twenty-five students graduated from the University of Mississippi School of Dentistry’s Class of 1999, a group as close-knit as any family. They came to know one another’s hopes and fears, cheering each other through challenges and easing the strain of a demanding curriculum with good‑natured humor.
Now, the classmates are uniting once more — both financially and in spirit — to honor two members of their cohort who tragically passed away: Dr. Micheal Perry of Oxford, Mississippi, who died in a 2016 plane crash while returning from a dental convention, and Dr. Tracy Hodges, who passed away at his Tupelo, Mississippi, home in 2012.
“We were all friends. The class of ’99 was small, and we leaned on one another,” said Dr. Kyle Odom, who recently made a significant gift in support of the School of Dentistry’s new clinical building at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC).
The new facility will include two operatories named in memory of Perry and Hodges.
“Michael and Tracy left us too soon,” said Odom, an oral surgeon in Lawrence, Kansas, and 21-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force. “Michael was the class president — and the class clown! — and Tracy had the highest grades, the No. 1 student, but he was so quietly humble you’d never know it.
“I hoped, as everyone who donated to this project hopes, to honor these two gentlemen; they are sorely missed,” he continued. “My wife, Theresa, and I are blessed to be able to help honor their memory. They both embodied what our class meant to me: quiet, hard-working and possessing laugh-out-loud good humor, excellent hands and wholesome gentleness. You would want them taking care of your family.”
The class’s fundraising effort was initiated by Dr. Jason Parolli of Hernando, Mississippi, and continued by Dr. Brant Kairit of Senatobia, Mississippi, along with Dr. Beth Shelton of Tupelo — all working toward full participation from their classmates.
“Hopefully this expansion will grow the class size to 60 students,” said Kairit, who lived with Perry during their first two years of dental school, stood in both late dentists’ weddings and served as a pallbearer at their funerals. “When the dental school was built in the ’70s, most students were male. Today, classes are made up of roughly 50 percent women, and we need to graduate more dentists to meet Mississippi’s needs.”
During its 2023 session, the Mississippi State Legislature appropriated $40 million for a new 40,000‑square‑foot, state‑of‑the‑art building.
“This commitment allows the School of Dentistry to upgrade our teaching and learning environment, improve the patient experience and plan for anticipated growth,” said Dr. Pia Chatterjee Kirk, dean of the UMMC School of Dentistry.
The building’s first floor will house a faculty and resident practice area with reception and waiting areas, 15 faculty operatories, 13 resident operatories, dispensaries, consultation rooms, a laboratory and associated support spaces.
The second floor will feature the D3 and D4 student practice area, complete with its own reception and waiting spaces, 48 operatories, radiology rooms, consult rooms, a lab and support areas.
Initial buildout on the third floor includes prep and sterilization areas as well as storage rooms, with space reserved for future expansion. A walkway will connect the new structure to the existing building, while landscaped green spaces will provide peaceful gathering areas for visitors, students and staff.
The dean expressed gratitude for the Class of 1999’s leadership.
“What that class is doing is admirable, and the fact that their gifts honor two of their own makes it especially meaningful,” Kirk said. “It sets a powerful example for other classes.”
In addition to the state’s $40 million allocation, the School of Dentistry is partnering with the Office of Development to raise private funds for enhancements to the student experience and position the school for growth over the next five years.
“Every memory of dental school is a good one — every single one,” Odom said. “Those were some of the best years of my life. I learned to use my hands to help people and to calm the anxiety nearly every patient brings to the chair. I played guitar every weekend with Dr. Jason Digby, Tracy’s roommate for the first couple of years. I played flag football, got married, went on mission trips to Mexico and the Dominican Republic, navigated the diagonal curriculum and befriended some of the best people I’ve ever known.
“My hope is that this project will give future students the same opportunities we enjoyed under a marquee bearing the Hodges and Perry names.”
To support the School of Dentistry contact Brad Ewing, director of development, at gewing1@umc.edu or 601‑815‑5893.
By Bill Dabney/UM Foundation