Boston University professors and students in the Goldman School of Dental Medicine are mourning the death of Spencer Frankl, the dean of the school for 30 years whose battle with cancer came to an end Saturday morning.

Frankl, who became a professor in 1964, had held the post longer than any other dean at BU and every dental school in the country.

“People described him as a giant,” said Kathleen Ferland, the administration director of the SDM Dean’s Office. “He was a very effective leader. He had a lot of spirit and vision. He could see into the future 10 years ahead.”

Frankl, 73, founded the school’s pediatric dentistry department in 1964 when he was an associate professor and developed the Doctor of Dental Medicine program when he was an associate dean. He also secured a $1.1 million federal construction grant to make additions to the graduate school to accommodate the program.

“He was very inspirational, and he always treated you as a colleague,” said Jeffrey Hutter, an SDM senior associate dean and chairman. “He was always looking to provide you with guidance to become a better educator. He certainly had an impact on many students over a 30-year period.”

Frankl’s most recent achievements include founding a shorter seven-year DMD program for undergraduates. He also made SDM one of six dental schools in the country to use digital texts instead of textbooks.

“I just remember every time that we saw him at school, we were mesmerized,” said second-year graduate student Gary Nord, the president of his SDM class. “We were just like, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s the dean,’ like he was the president or something.”

Nord said he remembers the buzz surrounding Frankl and his achievements when SDM received 20 commendations from the American Dental Association in 2006, more than any other school had received.

For the last 20 years of his tenure, Frankl spent one hour each day walking around the school talking to students, professors and patients. Even when Frankl was diagnosed with cancer, he still served as dean, but he could not always be on campus this year.

“It kind of gave him a feeling of the heartbeat of the school,” Ferland said. “It was part of his daily schedule as a dean. That was his style of leadership. He got to know people and learn about things to change in the dental school.”

Students, faculty and staff have been invited to attend the funeral proceedings, which will take place tomorrow at 11 a.m. at Temple Israel in Brookline. Professors are making classes optional that day to allow students to pay their respects, Nord said.

“I believe that there’s going to be a lot of students attending,” Nord said. “I think his service to the school speaks for itself. The faculty and all of the staff had great respect for him and it was clearly evident in the way that they spoke about him all the time.”

SDM announced it would create a $1 million Dean Spencer N. Frankl Scholarship to honor his 40 years of service to the university.

Rachel Rose-Sandow contributed reporting for this article.