Cramer retires from TAMCOD
What does a dentist get when he retires?
A little plaque.
Known for his dad jokes, Dr. George Cramer can add this one to the lineup after retiring from Texas A&M College of Dentistry in August. The longtime clinical associate professor is a steadfast presence and gifted instructor, sharing his technical expertise in the classroom for more than 20 years.
“Teaching young people and working with those who really desire to be the best they can be is what I really like best about teaching,” said Cramer, a pillar in the Department of Comprehensive Dentistry.
His most recent role included teaching first- and second-year students operative dentistry and keeping everyone laughing with his crackling sense of humor.
Cramer, who spent five years in the Marine Corps as a naval aviator, flying missions during the Vietnam conflict, joined the dental school as a faculty member shortly after graduating from what was then Baylor College of Dentistry, serving from 1975 to 1981.
“Soon after I graduated, I was invited to teach part time by an instructor I greatly admired,” he said. “I soon became full time. This was my intro to teaching, and I loved it.”
After he and his wife had children, they decided to raise them outside the confines of the city, so he left the school to enter private practice in a small Texas town. In 2001, once his children were grown, he returned, teaching part time until he retired from private practice and assumed a full-time position. He was named Dental Teacher of the Year in 2017.
“The best part of teaching here has been the students and the faculty,” Cramer said. “We get good kids here, and there are so many good people on faculty here, too.”
By Cramer’s estimation, he taught about a third of the current faculty during his tenure, including Dr. Lara Coseo, clinical assistant professor. She said she’ll miss “his presence” and simply knowing that he’s in his office.
“It’s just across the hall from mine, and I can holler at his open doorway any time I have a question,” she said. Coseo explained that she’s now teaching the course he taught for the last 10 years, so she’d often consult with him, asking how he explained a particular concept.
“Any time I knocked, he was always willing to listen to my problem and help me find a solution,” she said.
His open-door policy extended to students, too. In recent years, he shared an office with Dr. Stephen McDonald, also a clinical associate professor, and Cramer said it was often a revolving door as students sought everything from tutoring and career advice to encouragement, and even the occasional joke.
“When you’re a dental student, you’re self-conscious … you’re afraid to ask questions,” McDonald said, “but Dr. Cramer was comforting and willing to give as much help as any one student needed. I’ve never seen him deny anyone additional help or coaching. It was almost a daily occurrence.”
Dr. Janna Burnett, clinical associate professor, described him as “unnaturally patient.”
“He stands out in my mind as a professor because he is so very kind,” she said. “He never gets ruffled or frustrated, so that’s something that I hope to take from him. I want to channel more Dr. Cramer in my own teaching. I’ll miss his kind demeanor and his calming presence.”
Burnett called upon Cramer last year to share his infamous dad jokes during a Wellness Wednesday program, and it was one of the students’ favorite sessions.
“He loves to tell bad dad jokes,” said Dr. Amp Miller, professor in the Department of Comprehensive Dentistry. “He’s got a whole bunch of them.”
Miller added that in addition to his jokes, students appreciate the way he approaches the classroom.
“He genuinely wants them to learn,” Miller said. “When they’re having trouble, he’ll try to work with them. He’s not one to try to fail somebody. He’ll give them the appropriate grade, but he’s thoughtful in the way he guides them. I’ve always appreciated that about him.”
Dr. Bernard Hennessy, department head for comprehensive dentistry, said that even though he was technically Cramer’s boss, he often sought advice from the longtime professor.
“He’s an expert in his field, and he has the ability to take the knowledge he has and present it to students in a way that they can truly understand it,” Hennessy said. “He’s simply passionate about teaching – dedicated and reliable.”
In fact, Cramer enjoys teaching so much that he’s returning to campus in a part-time capacity after some much-deserved time off. He and his wife, Susan, plan to travel, spend more time with their grandchildren and continue their volunteer work at their church.
“I’m trying to hide out because I don’t like goodbyes,” Cramer said, and that’s no joke.