In 1985 a number of the Dental School school were asked to form a
working party to look at the formation of an Alumni Society.
It didn’t take long to decide that it could have benefits for both student and qualified dentists. It was immediately recognised that the benefits to the undergraduate and the postgraduate differed but it was pointed out that we are all debtors to our profession and so the postgraduates could, as well as giving advice to the undergraduates, be a source of financial support for various aspects of their course.
The inaugural meeting was held in 1987 at which it was unanimously agreed that a society of Manchester Dental Alumni be formed and that its first elected President was to be Professor J (Joe) Moore.
In 1988 the first Issue of the Society’s Newsletter was published under the editorship of Fred Hill.
Guided by the quotation “We are all debtors to our professions” the purpose of Somanda was to strengthen the sense of identity of graduates with the Dental School and University, to help encourage reunions students who graduated together, and hopefully to build up sufficient funds through membership fees to help support undergraduate travel to other Dental Schools, primarily abroad, and to support the Hardship fund for disadvantaged dental students.
Despite the hard work of successive committees, the number of paid up members is less than 20% of those eligible and we continue to encourage more of those eligible to become paid up members thereby allowing us to
strengthen our help to our undergraduates who will soon be our graduate colleagues and, hopefully, full members of Somanda.