Bud and Linda Tarrson Fellowship

The AAP Foundation is grateful to donors including Linda and the late E. Bud Tarrson, the Tarrson Dental Research Foundation, and Ronald Tarrson for their support of this fellowship.

A philanthropist, like a teacher, can affect eternity as well. This is what Mr. Bud Tarrson set out to achieve. As an industrialist, he established himself as a leader in the science and technology of prevention in fighting all forms of dental diseases and conditions. The former president and owner of the John O. Butler Company earned a reputation for product, sales, and service excellence by working in partnership with dentistry and its specialists to serve the oral health needs of the public. He recognized the importance of dental education and research, and worked closely with dental scientists and clinicians to develop effective instruments for dental disease prevention. Through his foundations, he generously supported projects of numerous organizations included the World Health Organization, the March of Dimes, Project Hope, the American Fund for Dental Health, and the American College of Dentists. He was a trustee advisor of the American Fund for Health and a board member of the Academy of General Dentistry Foundation. He received a special award from the Republic of Panama in 1987 for his contribution to the dental health of the people of Panama and to the dental profession. He received numerous honors including the Award of Merit of the American College of Dentists, honorary membership in the American Dental Association and the American Academy of Periodontology. He was a great friend of dental education and gave generously to several dental schools. In gratitude for his personal success, he took the initiative to give something back to dentistry and has done so through his many contributions to education. Following Bud’s death Linda continued to champion the couple’s concern for oral health. The Tarrson Fellowship represents the Tarrsons’ gift to countless generations of dentists and the people they serve. It is the Tarrsons’ gesture of philanthropy, which will continue the legacy of helping to provide the best quality services to both patients and students.