Formal portraits of Dr. Leonard I. Linkow and Dr. Arthur Ashman have been hung at the College in the Department of Implant Dentistry bearing Dr. Ashman' name. Dr. Linkow, a 1952 graduate of the College, is generally regarded as the "father of modern implant dentistry," and Dr. Ashman, a 1961 Columbia University graduate, is coinventor of a synthetic bone replacement called HTR Polymer that has shown promise of regenerating bone tissue in the mouth as well as the rest of the body. The two world-renowned implant dentistry pioneers have long had a lot in common.

Both are ardent baseball fans and spring-training campers who once considered professional baseball careers. Both are also responsible for historic "firsts" at NYUCD: Dr. Linkow for the world's first professorship in implant dentistry, the Leonard I. Linkow Professorship in Implant Dentistry; Dr. Ashman for the world's first official department of implant dentistry, the Arthur Ashman Department of Implant Dentistry.