Dr. Victor Halperin

Halperin, Dr. Victor, Dental Educator and Oral Pathologist. Dr. Victor Halperin, died on February 7, 2002 at the age of 86. He was born in Manhattan, NY, on December 20, 1915. After graduating from high school in New York, Dr. Halperin attended the University of Mississippi from 1936-1940, where he received a B.A. in Science. He is noted to have said that there was no B.S. offered at "Ole Miss" during that time, but his major concentrations were in chemistry, pre-dentistry, health science, and biological sciences. Dr. Halperin entered the University of Illinois Dental School in 1937, where he received a B.S. in Dentistry in 1939 and a D.D.S. in 1941. He then returned to New York to begin his private practice. He spent 3 1/2 years during World War II in the Army Air Corps utilizing his talents overseas. Dr. Halperin spent 12 months in North Africa and 15 months in Italy and acquired three Battle Stars. "Some of my best amalgams went down over the Kasserine Pass," said Dr. Halperin when one recalling some of his experiences in the service. Dr. Halperin married Anne Emer in 1945 after returning from service in Europe. After two additional years in private practice, Dr. Halperin joined the General Dentistry staff at the Veterans Administration Hospital, where he remained until 1951. During that time he was inspired by Dr. Hamilton Robinson to pursue study of Oral Pathology. As a result Dr. Halperin enrolled for additional training in the field of Oral Pathology, where he received his post-graduate certificate in 1952. He decided that he preferred teaching to private practice and became Assistant Professor of Oral Pathology at Emory University. In 1955, Dr. Halperin was invited to teach at the Loyola Dental School in New Orleans, where he became Dean. Dr. Halperin fostered in his students the evolving notion that dentistry included much more than just the care of teeth. Dentists increasingly perform biopsies (the removal of small pieces of tissue) on certain lesions they find in the mouth. Oral Pathology is a very important area in Dentistry, and Dr. Halperin used his abilities to prepare his dental students for advancements in oral disease detection. Dr. Halperin remained at Loyola while teaching on a part-time volunteer basis at the L.S.U. School of Medicine. As Dean of Loyola Dental School, he supervised the phase out period. He became Head of the Department of Oral Pathology of the LSU Dental School in 1967, and in 1970, he became the Assistant Dean of the Research Development program he established. Dr. Halperin was responsible for obtaining grants for that and other programs at the LSU Dental School. Dr. Halperin had many other accomplishments, including: serving as President of the American Academy of Oral Pathology, consultants to numerous hospitals as well as the US Public Health Service, receiving the Robert F. Eastman XI PSI PHI Alumni of the Year Award, receiving the American Cancer Society Louisiana Division Award for Notable Service in the Crusade to Conquer Cancer, and receiving the LSU Alumni Association Distinguished Faculty Fellowship Award. It is notable that he was the first member of the LSU Dental School to receive that latter award. He retired from LSU in 1980, but continued his teaching part time at the Miami-Dade Community College. Dr. Halperin expressed on many occasions that he felt his most important activity was teaching his students. He will be remembered by all who have had the opportunity to know and to learn from him. Dr Halperin is survived by his wife, Anne; his children, Henry Halperin and Randi Olson; his five grandchildren; and two great grandchildren.