13 June 2025

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Dental hygiene professor wins Chancellor’s Award for teaching

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When you have the discipline of a high-achieving athlete, a big, outgoing personality that fills a room and a desire to inspire while imparting knowledge, you have all the makings of a great teacher. UNC Adams School of Dentistry’s Jennifer Harmon, MS, RDH, clinical associate professor, fits this bill, and her talents were recently recognized by her students and her peers when she learned she’d been awarded a Chancellor’s Award for teaching. 

Each year, Carolina recognizes the very best of the best as recipients of the Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence in Academics and Student Activities and Leadership. It’s the only campus-wide student recognition program at Carolina, and students must submit nominations for their instructors. Harmon was recognized and received her award at the ceremony April 22. 

Harmon, a triple Tar Heel, started her journey to education seeing two role models in action – her mother and aunt, a special education teacher and dentist, respectively. 

“I came to be a teacher through two great inspirations, my mom and my aunt, Bettie McKaig. My aunt was a  highly respected dentist, and I had the privilege not only to work alongside her, but to learn from her. I loved being in her office, and it was there that I realized I could combine the two loves my role models instilled in me: dentistry and teaching,” Harmon said. 

Harmon was also a competitive gymnast, training at Raleigh School of Gymnastics since she was 5 years old, and her love of exercise and sports prompted her major when she enrolled at Carolina in 2003 to begin her undergraduate degree. After graduating in 2007, Harmon wasn’t sure of her next move; she tried working as a bartender, a dog mom and a personal trainer, but felt like she hadn’t found her true calling. Her gymnastics past came into play, as she took a job coaching the sport full-time at her old gym, but along the way, she missed the intellectual stimulation of an academic environment. Her aunt suggested she try working at the front desk of her dental practice, and during the next two years in that position, Harmon realized she wanted to shift to a new career – dentistry. She enjoyed the prevention aspect of dental hygiene and enrolled in the undergraduate Dental Hygiene program at ASOD. During her second year, she decided to pursue her master’s degree so she could feed her love of coaching at the same time. 

“What’s funny is that I never wanted to be a teacher, and I never thought I’d follow that path, but I think that teaching and coaching was my destiny. I have been very fulfilled combining both the art of coaching and teaching,” Harmon said. 

Harmon’s teaching style definitely stands out. “I am loud, full of energy and enthusiastic,” she laughs. “I’m the professor who keeps you wide awake.. I bring the volume and as my students say ‘the vibe’ so there’s never a dull moment!” 

But the real key to Harmon’s success is connection and building relationships with her students. 

“It’s not about treating them like ‘Student A., Student B.’ It’s me wanting to get to know them. On the first day of class, I try my hardest to know everyone’s name in the class. It’s that quick and easy connection that builds trust and a psychologically safe environment from the start,” Harmon said. 

“I try to lead with empathy, and that has carried me far in my career. I think students feel when teachers are compassionate and want the best for them, and ultimately, I want them to be good dental hygienists and dentists, but I also want them to be good humans,” she said. 

Her connection with her students inspires them, as well. 

“Professor Harmon goes above and beyond each and every day to show up for her students. She displays a commitment to excellence during every lecture, clinic demonstration and interaction with her students. Whether it’s staying up until 1 a.m. finishing a slide deck to make sure everything is the most up-to-date content, to sending students texts when they are absent to make sure they are doing OK, Professor Harmon cares deeply for those around her. Despite any hardships Professor Harmon may be dealing with, she shows up with a big smile on her face ready to teach. I admire her unwavering dedication to her field and the dental hygiene community she is a part of,” said Emma Thomas, a second-year dental hygiene student in her nomination for Harmon.

Harmon’s initial reaction to winning the Chancellor’s Award was tears, though they were “happy tears.”

“I’ve been nominated for stuff that I didn’t get, and this is such a big award. Nominations are always great, but to finally have that nomination go through and get selected, it seems surreal. It’s such a joy, that someone thinks I matter, and someone’s noticing,” she said. 

“This is an amazing achievement for Professor Harmon. She is a dedicated dental hygienist, teacher and Tar Heel, and we are so fortunate to have her at Adams School of Dentistry,” said Janet Guthmiller, DDS, PhD, dean, Adams School of Dentistry. “This award is so meaningful because her students took the time to share their experiences and tell the world that she is a special member of our faculty. We are so proud!”

“For me, teaching is about connection and building positive relationships with my students and making them better versions of themselves. If I have done that, I have succeeded,” Harmon said.

Source: https://dentistry.unc.edu/