Six Decades of Service

Rutgers School of Dental Medicine (RSDM) alumnus and Professor of Diagnostic Sciences Carmine J. Lo Monaco ’64 passed away on Jan. 28, 2025. He was 87 years old.

“Carmine was well known to all faculty, staff, students, and alumni of RSDM and will be missed by all,” said Steven Singer, chair of the Department of Diagnostic Sciences.

Lo Monaco was born in Brooklyn, NY. He graduated from St. John’s University, New York, following which he attended RSDM for his DMD and endodontics training. He served in the Army before being honorably discharged in 1962. He started teaching at his alma mater in 1966 and was an RSDM faculty for more than 60 years.

“Dr. Lo Monaco was the kind of person who would show up to work every day, regardless of the weather. If he could pull his car out of the driveway, he came to work,” said Singer. “Carmine was very pragmatic and goal-oriented; whenever he was asked to help, he'd step up to the task. He would attend every Department of Diagnostic Sciences meeting and actively participate.”

Lo Monaco served as the director of the division of emergency and urgent dental care services. “He'd ensure all the patients needing immediate treatment would be seen expeditiously, and his students would receive the training to diagnose and treat the problem,” said Singer. “It was always important to him that his students not only knew what to do but also why.”

He was a longtime member of the New Jersey Dental Association, where he held several positions all the way up to president. He was also a member of the American Dental Association, serving as a council member and a trustee for its fourth district. “He was a respected member of the Omega Omega Chapter of Omicron Kappa Upsilon, the national dental honor society, and was our unofficial parliamentarian and historian,” noted Singer. He held roles in several other dental organizations too, such as the Fauchard Dental Society of New Jersey and the Essex County Dental Society.

Committed to leadership, Lo Monaco and his wife, Louise Lo Monaco, created the Dr. Carmine Lo Monaco Student Leadership Fund, a scholarship awarded to a third-year pre-doctoral dental student demonstrating commitment to organized dentistry as well as the profession of dentistry.

Numerous awards crowned Lo Monaco’s own career. He received the 1974 Outstanding Educators of America, the 1975 International College of Dentists, the 1982 American College of Dentists, the 2020 Presidential Service Award for Continuing Contributions to the Profession of Dentistry, the 2023 Dr. Theodore V. Symanski Lifetime Achievement Award, and the 2024 Presidential Service Award for Lifetime Achievement awards.

Outside school, he was a parishioner at St. Aloysius Church, where he served as a trustee and Eucharistic Minister. Lo Monaco is survived by his wife, three children, and six grandchildren.

A memorial mass will be celebrated at St. Aloysius Church in Caldwell on Feb. 7, 2025, at 10:30 am. Instead of flowers, donations to the Dr. Carmine Lo Monaco Student Leadership Fund can be made here.