Barbara Sciulli—Alumni Award recipient

For more than four decades, Barbara A. Sciulli was the backbone of the student experience at the Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine. 

This year’s Alumni Board Special Recognition Award honors Sciulli, the school’s long-standing registrar and financial aid liaison, for her administrative leadership, system modernizations and decades of support for dental professionals.

Sciulli's CWRU career was launched in the Controller's Office in 1974, followed by a transition to the School of Dental Medicine to manage a newly created financial aid role. From there, she led the school's transition from manual paper records and phone calls to modern digital systems for information and financial aid. 

During her tenure, she managed registration, tuition integrity, performance tracking and graduation verifications across all DMD, MSD, resident and EFDA cohorts. Her work also extended to campus governance and national dental education. Sciulli was elected as a representative and as secretary of the Staff Advisory Council and was appointed for several years as a university diversity trainer. 

Nationally, she brought her financial expertise to the American Dental Education Association’s Student Financial Aid Advisory Council from 2013 to 2021, serving as one of only four dental school representatives in the country. Locally, she served two terms as president of the Kirtlandia Society at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History and has been a Cleveland Metroparks volunteer for 31 years.

Sciulli was nominated for the award by Chineze Enwonwu, DMD (DEN ’10), who noted how the student journey was shaped by her care.

“Any graduate of Case SODM from 1985 through now can attest to the impact of Barb's work,” Enwonwu said. “From ensuring accurate registration, issuance of financial aid packages, timely loan and scholarship verifications... the impact of Barb's work is profound.