Patricia L. Blanton, DMD, came to the James B. Edwards College of Dental Medicine with a well-established reputation as an award-winning educator, researcher, administrator, clinician-scholar, and community advocate. Initially, she concentrated on teaching surgical anatomy of the head and neck and advanced local anesthetic techniques to graduate and undergraduate students in the Department of Stomatology.

In 2016, Blanton was invited to serve as the Interim Dean of the College of Dental Medicine during a leadership transition period. In the fashion that has characterized her long and storied career, she got straight to work in providing the leadership necessary for the highly successful 2017 CODA accreditation site visit. She also championed numerous infrastructure and capital improvements to the existing footprint and contributed considerable time and treasure to the renovation of the Macaulay Dental Museum. Blanton's ability to distill a problem to its very core and seek available remedies is part of her unique leadership style as an accountable servant leader.