Valli Meeks '77, DDS - William H.J. Beckett Hall of Alumni

Wed, 10/29/2025 - 12:00

Valli Meeks '77, DDS - William H.J. Beckett Hall of Alumni Achievers Inductee

The ideals of leadership and service to others fostered and instilled in Valli Meeks ’77 by Springfield College became innate and a part of her professional growth as an oral health care provider and educator for more than 30 years.

In 2023, Meeks retired after 34 years of service to the University of Maryland School of Dentistry (UMSOD). In 1989, Meeks founded the PLUS Clinic, the first clinic in Maryland dedicated to providing dental treatment to patients living with HIV/AIDS.

In the three decades since, she has worked tirelessly to serve those patients and to imbue her students with a deep understanding of the importance of compassionate and inclusive care. About 650 patients each year receive treatment at UMSOD’s PLUS Clinic, and almost 98 percent of them receive care at no cost due to Meeks’ efforts.

Committed to raising public awareness about HIV/AIDS, Meeks has lectured extensively about the impact of the virus on oral health and presents training clinics and workshops nationally and internationally. As a clinical trainer for the MidAtlantic AIDS Education and Training Center, she established the PLUS Clinic as a regional center for the diagnosis and treatment of oral lesions associated with HIV.

In 2013, Meeks partnered with the University of Maryland School of Medicine Institute of Human Virology’s JACQUES Initiative to reduce the number of new HIV infections by providing HIV testing in UMSOD clinics. In 2017, 293 HIV rapid tests were administered at the PLUS Clinic, a 165 percent increase from 2016.

Ingrained in our Humanics philosophy, Meeks was determined to expand her commitment to educating future oral health care providers globally. She helped create the first dental degree program at the University of Rwanda College of Medicine and Health Sciences. This is the first and only dental school in Rwanda to offer a Bachelor of Dental Surgery degree. She has continued to visit Rwanda, assisting with the dental school’s curriculum and bringing donated dental equipment for the clinics. Since 2015, Meeks has provided ongoing volunteer service at the Urukundo Learning Center and Urukundo Dental Clinic.

Meeks’ work has been recognized by many organizations throughout the world, including the American Dental Education Association Gies Award for Achievement-Dental Educator, the University Systems of Maryland Board of Regents’ Faculty Award for Public Service, “Heroes Among Us Award” for Years of Service to People Living With HIV/AIDS in the Baltimore EMA from the Greater Baltimore HIV Health Services Planning Council, and the University of Maryland School of Dentistry Department of Oncology and Diagnostic Sciences Faculty of the Year Award, in recognition of outstanding service to the Department of Oncology and Diagnostic Sciences.

For her outstanding professional achievements and service to others, Meeks earned the 2023 Springfield College Distinguished Alumna Award. Since her retirement in 2023, Meeks has stayed connected with UMSOD and the PLUS Clinic continually serving as a consultant.

Meeks resides in Penllyn, PA with her husband Clyde V. Santana ’73.

Response from Valli Meeks '77, DDS

I am honored to be selected as the recipient of the 2025 William H.J. Beckett Hall of Alumni Achievers Award. It is humbling to receive this award that honors the legacy of a Springfield College alumnus who has the distinction of being not only a member of the first graduating class to receive a four-year diploma from Springfield College, but also the first African American to graduate from SC, and notably, was also a recipient of Springfield College’s most distinguished honor and recognition, the Tarbell Medallion.

Similar to Mr. Beckett’s legacy, since graduating from Springfield College, leadership and service has played a major part in my professional growth and development, and continues to play a part in my life in retirement. Undeniably the strong academic background I received in the sciences at SC prepared me for my graduate and postdoctoral education in dentistry at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry (UMSOD) where I was the founder and director of UMSOD’s PLUS Clinic, Maryland’s first and continuously operating dental clinic established to serve Marylanders living with HIV disease and limited resources to pay for dental care.

Despite leaving my roots in physical education for a career in dentistry, SC’s philosophy of “spirit, mind, and body” continues to prevail through my work in global health and human service. Leadership and service ignited an interest presenting me with the opportunity to travel to Rwanda, where along with colleagues from the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, we established the first dental school in Rwanda. On a dental mission to Bushenge, Rwanda, with Operation Smile, I performed dental exams on children prior to their cleft palate correction surgery. Children with no awareness of their facial disfigurement smiled, laughed and sang songs to me, providing a heartwarming experience.

The Urukundo Learning Center in Muhanga, Rwanda, is currently my international focus where in addition to a dental clinic, there is a community daycare center and elementary and middle school onsite. Procuring and delivering donated dental supplies and equipment as well as children’s clothes, books and baby chairs is a fulfilling challenge for me and my husband (Clyde Santana ’73) who with his background in the visual and performing arts, has started a puppetry workshop at Urukundo.

It is a privilege to be amongst the list of Springfield College alumni who are being honored during this 2025 Homecoming Weekend. Matriculation through, and graduation from Springfield College affords all SC alumni the title of Alumni of Distinction in and of itself as a direct result of the values of professional excellence and service to humanity instilled by the Springfield College philosophy of “spirit, mind, and body.”