Donation to fund new Dental facility

The $4 million gift from the alumnus is the largest in the school's history. In dental terms, it's the equivalent of plugging the gap between two teeth. In laymen's terms, a $4 million donation from Robert Schattner, a 1948 alumnus of the School of Dental Medicine, will help foot the costs of a new Dental facility at 40th and Locust streets that will connect the Evans and Levy buildings, the school's existing facilities. When the new building is completed at the end of 2000, the 55,000-square-foot Robert Schattner Center will house clinical care facilities, classrooms and conference rooms for the school. Officials expect construction to begin before the end of the year. The building fills a long-standing need for the Dental School, allowing it to move some functions out of its currently overcrowded facilities. The Dental School has an enrollment of 481 students. There are 72 faculty members at the school, which has an annual budget of about $38 million. Although officials said plans for the building had long been in the works, Schattner's donation "made it possible [for the building] to happen earlier," Dental School Director of Development Tobe Amsterdam said. The gift is Schattner's first large donation to the school and the largest in the school's history. But Amsterdam said the school will continue to try to raise money for the facility. "There are a lot of naming opportunities that haven't been met," she explained, referring to chances for donors to dedicate portions of the building. The Dental School has also received a grant of $4 million from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services toward the costs of the building. Schattner, of Bethesda, Md., is the president of Sporicidin International, which develops antimicrobial products. He is perhaps best-known for having invented Chloraseptic mouthwash. According to Amsterdam, Schattner has a longstanding interest in the school's student research programs. "After seeing [Dean Raymond Fonseca's] plans, my wife Kay and I decided to help Dr. Fonseca fulfill his dream," Schattner said in a statement. He declined to comment for this article. Amsterdam said the Dental School had long pursued such a large donation from Schattner, who has previously given money to the school. He would not divulge the amount of Schattner's previous donations. In the statement, Schattner said Fonseca was instrumental in securing the donation. "Dean Ray Fonseca certainly deserves the credit for this project," Schattner said. "He has a clear vision for the future and believes the school should be the international showplace for dental education and care." Fonseca was unavailable for comment. Schattner and Sporicidin have been in the news before. In December, 1991, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Federal Trade Commission seized Sporicidin's stock of Sporicidin Cold Sterilizing Solution, allegeing that the product was "adulterated and misbranded." The seizure of the medicine, which is used to sterilize instruments, centered around allegations that the privately-held company had released the product before receiving proper clearance from the FDA. A legal battle in federal court soon ensued between the Rockville, Md.-based company and the government. Under a 1993 settlement between the two sides, Sporicidin paid the government an undisclosed fine, but admitted no wrongdoing.