Jackson and Josephine counties (June 10, 2026) — Rogue Community College will celebrate a milestone on Friday, June 12, when the college
honors its first graduating class of dental hygiene students during a pinning ceremony at 3:30 p.m. at
the Crater Performing Arts Center in Central Point.
Twenty students will be recognized for completing the program and preparing to enter
the workforce as dental hygiene professionals. The ceremony marks the culmination
of years of planning and development to establish the program and expand access to
dental hygiene education in Southern Oregon.
The pinning ceremony is a longstanding tradition in health care education, symbolizing students’ transition from the classroom and clinical training into professional practice. The students will also participate in the RCC Commencement on Saturday, June 13, at 10 a.m. at the Redwood Campus in Grants Pass.
“This first graduating class represents an important milestone for Rogue Community College and for oral health care in our region,” said Carmen Mons, RCC’s director of Dental Programs. “These graduates are entering a field with strong workforce demand and will help improve access to preventive dental care in communities throughout Southern Oregon and beyond.”
Established in the fall of 2024, RCC’s two-year dental hygiene associate degree program was created to help address the growing need for qualified dental hygiene professionals. Through a combination of classroom instruction, laboratory coursework and hands-on clinical experiences, students develop the skills necessary to provide preventive oral health services, patient education and clinical dental hygiene care. RCC also offers a dental assisting certificate program.
Speakers at the pinning ceremony include RCC President Randy Weber, Mons and dental assisting instructor Taneille Dendauw.
For more information about the program, visit roguecc.edu/dental.
