ABO awards O.B. Vaughan Special Recognition Award to Dr. Walter J. (Bud) Belanger

The American Board of Orthodontics (ABO) awarded Dr. Walter J. (Bud) Belanger the O.B. Vaughan Special Recognition Award of the American Board of Orthodontics Saturday, May 14 at the annual luncheon of the College of Diplomates of the American Board of Orthodontics, which was held in conjunction with the 2011 Annual Session of the American Association of Orthodontists in Chicago, Ill.

As of 2011, the Special Recognition Award of the American Board of Orthodontics has been renamed the O.B. Vaughan Special Recognition Award of the American Board of Orthodontics in honor of Dr. O.B. Vaughan, an ABO past president. The ABO established this award to acknowledge those who have made a significant contribution to the orthodontic specialty.

“Dr. Vaughan is an icon in the specialty of orthodontics, and his selfless service as both an examiner for the ABO Clinical Examination and an educator is evidence of his dedication to excellence in the orthodontic specialty. This newly named award reflects the ABO’s appreciation for all that he has done over the years,” said Dr. Jeryl English, the 2010-11 president of the ABO. “We are also pleased to give this award to Dr. Belanger. Dr. Belanger, a longtime clinical associate professor at The University of Texas Dental Branch at Houston (UTDB), has taught residents his ‘Golden Rule,’ which is to treat every patient the way you would want to be treated. He has stressed board certification throughout his career. Bud loves the orthodontic specialty, but also stresses family, faith and friends for a successful life.”

Dr. Vaughan, a Diplomate of the ABO, served as president of the ABO from 1987 to 1988 and has been an ABO examiner since 1980. Dr. Vaughan served as an associate clinical professor in the graduate orthodontic program at UTDB and is currently serving in the same capacity in the graduate orthodontic program at The University of Texas at San Antonio. Dr. Vaughan has received the Albert H. Ketcham Memorial Award and the Martin E. Dewey Memorial Award. He has been recognized as the Outstanding Alumnus by Saint Louis University and also by the University of Missouri–Kansas City Orthodontic Department. Dr. Vaughan is also a Diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology. Dr. Vaughan practices orthodontics in Corpus Christi, Alice and Beeville, Texas.

“I am highly honored, and I am also extremely pleased to receive this honor from the American Board of Orthodontics,” Dr. Vaughan said. “It is very gratifying to receive this honor from my fellow Texan and the head of the Department of Orthodontics at The University of Texas Dental Branch at Houston, Dr. Jeryl English. For some 40 years, I have known, taught and worked beside Dr. Belanger. The ABO could not find a finer professional gentleman and splendid orthodontist than Dr. Belanger to receive this award.”

Dr. Belanger is a clinical associate professor in the Department of Orthodontics at UTDB. Dr. Belanger graduated from and earned his DDS at UTDB. He returned to UTDB for specialty training in orthodontics; he received his certificate in orthodontics and his master’s degree in 1972. Dr. Belanger has taught in the Department of Orthodontics for 40 years and maintained a private practice in Pearland, Texas. He has served on 20 master’s thesis committees, and he served as president of the Texas Orthodontic Alumni Association in 2002 and The Orthodontic Foundation in 2003. In 1998, Dr. Belanger received the Yellen-Schoverling Award as the outstanding orthodontic alumnus from UTDB.

“I feel so humbled and blessed to have journeyed in the specialty of orthodontics,” Dr. Belanger said. “I have had the amazing opportunity to have been surrounded by many professional colleagues who were brilliant and passionate ― true role models for me, like Dr. O.B. Vaughan. To receive an award like this, the first O.B. Vaughan Special Recognition Award from the American Board of Orthodontics, is genuinely a tremendous honor for me.”