10/14/2026
Founders Week 2026: Public Servant of the Year Ramsay Koury, DMD
In 2010, Ramsay Koury, DMD, was a dentist who had never thought about becoming a professor, but a trip to Honduras and a nudge from a University of Maryland School of Dentistry student changed the course of his career.
Koury had been inspired to go to dental school while attending Juniata College in central Pennsylvania and accompanying his cousin, Robert Zimmerman, on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic. Koury assisted Zimmerman, a dentist, and a team of practitioners for two weeks in providing oral health care services such as tooth extractions.
“After graduating dental school at the University of Pittsburgh, I did many mission trips, mainly to Honduras, enjoying the ability to help others in need,” said Koury, who met five UMSOD students on one of the trips and enjoyed the experience working with them.
“One of the students encouraged me to come and teach at the school,” Koury said. “I had never considered teaching, never wanted to return to a dental school, and did not want to live in a big city again. However, I came in for an interview, worked in a clinic with students, and knew I had found my true calling.”
Koury served as an instructor of operative dentistry for two years as a volunteer member of the UMSOD Dean’s Faculty, then joined UMSOD full time in 2013 after 24 years in private dentistry in the Harrisburg, Pa., area. Over the past decade-plus, he has made his mark not only as a teacher, but also as a mentor and leader of the Mission of Mercy program since 2016.
At the Mission of Mercy events, UMSOD practitioners and students under faculty supervision provide free oral health care services to underserved and uninsured Maryland residents, including extractions, restorative treatment, and diagnostic radiographs.
Koury, who is a clinical assistant professor and director of the Division of General Practice in the Department of Comprehensive Dentistry at UMSOD, organizes the events and coordinates student, faculty, resident, and staff involvement at sites across Baltimore, the Eastern Shore, College Park, Southern Maryland, Western Maryland, and Montgomery County.
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