Lasting Impressions | Fall 2016

NSU COLLEGE OF DENTAL MEDICINE © 21 postgraduate residents. He said one of his proudest contributions is a fund- raising e ort to create an endowed professorship in endodontics. Namer- ow created the campaign and guided it to the goal of $500,000 in only four years. “ e professorship helps us entice people to academia,” he said. Namerow remembers Eugenia Johnson as a standout student despite her di cult path. “We have literature review every week, and she had to translate into Russian rst so she could understand it,” said Namerow, who worked closely with her when he was department chair. “She is probably the hardest worker I’ve ever encountered in terms of residents who have gone through the program, and she im- proved her skills the most. She was incredible in her motivation to be the best she could be.” e Johnsons also make a point of returning to the CDM on a regular basis. Ben Johnson delivers all-day lectures to the CDM’s endodontics residents twice a year, while Eugenia Johnson returns once a year for Nova Southeastern University’s alumni weekend. “She has always been a very loyal alumna,” Namerow added. “She knows how to give back. She’s a very supportive person both nancially and physically.” Eugenia Johnson also has immersed herself in dental professional groups. She’s the incoming president of the Tulsa Dental Society and is active in the American Association of Endo- dontists, the American Dental Association, and the Oklahoma Dental Association. In addition, she maintains her membership in the European Society of Endodontology and the Endodontology Society of the Russian Dental Association. e couple now lives in Oklahoma. Ben Johnson has since retired, but remains a “living legend in the area,” she said. Eugenia Johnson is making her own name, creating a thriving practice named Green Country Endodontics in Tulsa and becoming an important part of the community. A few years ago, her photograph ran on the cover of Oklahoma Magazine for a feature on the state’s most fashionable residents. “She’s very well-liked by patients and referring dentists,” her husband said. “I have to say—I don’t tell her this—but she’s a very good clinician.” Johnson also feels welcomed by her practice. “ e people of Tulsa are so unique, so real. I love talking to my patients,” she said. At home, the Johnsons de nitely talk shop a er work. “He asks, ‘How was your day, did you have interesting cases?’ ” she said. So almost nightly, they get out the X-rays and start talking about their shared profession. Eugenia Johnson says pride in her CDM education led her to help support the Kenneth N. Namerow Endowed Professorship in Endodontics.