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Newsletter brings department together
Maggie’s Mailbag, edited by Maggie Penque, is the source for news for members of the Department of Oral Diagnostic Sciences. Photo: NANCY J. PARISI
Her job title is Secretary 1, and she works to build that 1 into a unified Department of Oral Diagnostic Sciences (ODS).
Meet Margaret Penque, known as Maggie to all. In fact, Maggie’s Mailbag is the name of the departmental newsletter she has developed.
When she joined ODS six years ago, Penque took over the newsletter, but expanded its informal social aspect into a department-wide focus of news, research, accomplishments, awards, publications, promotions, activities and updates of people in military service. The quarterly publication now tops six pages, which Penque edits, publishes and distributes.
“We have so much news here that’s just interesting,” she says in her effervescent manner. “You see people reading it, saying, ‘That’s very cool. I didn’t know that.’ It’s become a resource.”
The unique newsletter has a warm, informative style that brings together the different areas that comprise the ODS umbrella. The evolution of ODS in 1994 was the result of the merging of several dental departments: ODS now includes oral and maxillofacial pathology, oral medicine, oral radiology, temporomandibular disorders (TMD) and orofacial pain, and biomaterials, as well as the general practice residency program.
“I’m not doing it—they’re doing it. I’m just bringing it together,” she says of the department members who submit news items at her urging. “People see the value of the newsletter.”
Penque notes some of the other activities that have brought the department together over the years, such as ethnic lunches, where the cultural pot-luck makes for a taste of the world; an ad hoc weight-watchers-type group, which she facilitates weekly; and the School of Dental Medicine’s annual talent show in the Center for the Arts, in which she once played a tipsy secretary in a comedy sketch.
Her role can be viewed as department unifier and facilitator. As she says of the ODS suite in 355 Squire Hall, South Campus, “This is a kind of haven for people after they come from the clinic or research activities. We try to make it that way. Somebody needs something—you didn’t get a paycheck, office equipment is not working, dealing for a good price on a purchase—you problem-solve all week long.”
Penque appreciates the strong support network at the school and throughout the university. She feels that the office functions well because “people who want to be creative are allowed to shine here.”
The Niagara County native arrived at the School of Dental Medicine in 1995, saying she was attracted to the science aspect of the job. Penque has a bachelor’s degree in health education and a master’s degree in science education, and has taught at Nardin Academy and as a substitute teacher in several area schools. She has had a varied and resilient career, with stints at the Legal Aid Bureau, selling orthodontic supplies, owning a bakery and volunteer work.
After working in several positions within the dental school, Penque found a home in ODS. “I love it here. I can use my intelligence and creativity, and my opinions are taken into account. They appreciate what I have to say,” she reasons. “You go through tough periods and if you don’t roll with it, it’s going to roll right over you. You just make the best of the situations at hand.”
The mother of two grown daughters, Lori and Julie, Penque also has a 2-year-old granddaughter, Sienna, who she spoils because “that’s my job.”
As for her job at UB, the lively, direct Penque feels she has evolved as a person in ODS. “I try to be a positive force here,” she says. “All you have is right now—today—to change anything or make things better. Along the way you find that there are some things where it’s best to just let go and move on.”
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