HIGH POINT, N.C., Sept. 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — High Point University held a ribbon-cutting ceremony today to celebrate the grand opening of a three-story, 77,500-square-foot building that now serves as the permanent home for the Workman School of Dental Medicine, the state’s only private dental school.
Hundreds of faculty, staff, students, community members and special guests watched as Angie and Dr. Rick Workman cut a large, purple ribbon to mark the official opening of the new building. The large dental facility is one of HPU’s newest academic buildings and is located on a section of campus known as the Innovation Corridor.
The Rick and Angie Workman Foundation donated $32 million to establish the Workman School of Dental Medicine, which welcomed its inaugural class of 60 students in the fall of 2024. The school’s second cohort of 60 students started taking classes this fall inside the new building, which features state-of-the-art simulation labs, innovative learning spaces and a fully functional dental office.
“Dr. Workman, thank you and your family. You have complimented us way more than with any amount of money. When someone is willing to attach their name to something, that’s the greatest gift of all,” HPU President Nido Qubein said. “We need your name. We need people to know that this man came out of college, started a clinic and went on to build America’s largest network of dental offices. My students must know that. They must know about the art of the possible. They must know that they, too, can climb the highest mountain. They, too, can change the world in their own way.”
In September of 2023, HPU broke ground on two buildings that are similar in size for the Workman School of Dental Medicine and the Kenneth F. Kahn School of Law. The buildings cost a combined $100 million, stand next to each other and anchor the southern end of the Innovation Corridor. HPU will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the grand opening of the new law school building on Thursday.
Dr. Rick Workman, executive chairman and founder of Heartland Dental, serves as HPU’s Dental Innovator in Residence. During today’s ceremony, he told the audience that HPU’s dental school is training the next generation of dental students in a much more thoughtful and innovative way than when he was in dental school years ago.
“This school, because it’s led by these people with the vision and values of this university, cannot do anything but be successful,” Workman said. “These students when they graduate are going to change dentistry in a positive way and lead it into the future, and I’m honored to be some small part of that.”
This was the second ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Workman School of Dental Medicine in less than two months. On July 25, the dental school celebrated the launch of HPU Health Plaza Dental, HPU Health’s flagship dental location in the city of High Point.
HPU Health Plaza Dental, which is owned and operated by the university, is part of HPU Health LLC, a nonprofit academic dental network with dental practices across the state. There are currently 12 HPU Health locations, and more locations will be added this year as part of the dental school’s innovative approach to providing dental education to its students as well as offering affordable dental care to community members.
Dr. Ali Shazib, dean of the Workman School of Dental Medicine, spoke about his vision for the new dental school and its emphasis on serving communities throughout the state during the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
“While we share in this joy and excitement, our commitment is that every learner who walks through these doors will have the promise of compassion and integrated and innovative care where there are no silos but instead messages of ‘Yes, we care,’” Shazib said. “Welcome to the Workman School of Dental Medicine.”
- HPU Dental 1
- HPU Dental 2