The School of Dentistry was actively involved with the meeting, hosting about a dozen of the hands-on workshops in our clinics, classrooms and labs. Martha Yager, Karen Wilson, Dianne Beard, Bill Marse and Gary Wauthier coordinated these activities and, as usual, made us very proud.

Our Open House at the School of Dentistry Sunday evening, sponsored by Gateway computers and the Gendex Corporation, drew a large crowd. The food, the wine and the music made it a truly memorable evening.

We demonstrated the new electronic patient record system — made possible, in part, by generous gifts by the Dental Alumni Association and the Rinehart Foundation — and received glowing compliments. Few moments in my 34-year career have provided me with so much satisfaction. UMKC once again proved itself as an exceptional university.

This issue of the Explorer is dedicated to thanking the many alumni and friends who support the School of Dentistry by investing their time, talent and financial resources in this institution. This past year, we received over $1.7 million in gifts from some 1,150 donors. These gifts supported student programs, faculty development, classroom and clinical instruction, community outreach, faculty and student research, the acquisition of chair-side computer equipment, and many other important school projects.  

On behalf of our faculty, staff and students, and our nearly 30,000 patients, please accept my heartfelt thanks. Your gifts make an incredible difference around here, and we deeply appreciate it.

As we look to the future, two issues stand out as perhaps our most significant:

• Recruiting and retaining highly-qualified faculty

• Reducing student indebtedness

Both of these issues were discussed in great detail recently at the ADA House of Delegates meeting in Kansas City . In fact, the House passed two resolutions calling on ADA members to become more actively involved in supporting and advocating for dental education.

Here at UMKC, I have worked closely over the past year with Chancellor Gilliland on faculty recruitment and retention. A rather sizeable financial investment is needed from the University to address this issue fully. Because of the weakening economy and the subsequent pressures that puts on the State of Missouri ’s budget, it may be difficult to make much progress on this issue in the short-term. I am hopeful, however, that in the long-term we will be able to significantly upgrade our faculty compensation program.

Student indebtedness, unfortunately, is a somewhat more difficult and stubborn problem, which will not be resolved easily. Our graduating seniors this past year, on average, had school debts in excess of $90,000.

When I first arrived on campus in 1985, I made scholarships my top priority. Bob Peterson (D.D.S. ’63), chair of the Rinehart Foundation, organized a campaign to build our scholarship endowments. It was successful and our subsequent fund-raising efforts, through class scholarships, have added greatly to that initial effort.

This past September, at our scholarship recognition dinner, we awarded over $350,000 to some very deserving students. As proud as I am of that achievement, I believe we still have a ways to go.

Recently I attended an event hosted by the UMKC Conservatory of Music where the new dean, Randall Pembrook, told the gathered crowd that the conservatory was awarding over $500,000 per year in scholarships. It seems to me that if the Conservatory of Music, distinguished though it may be, can award $500,000 per year to its students, the School of Dentistry with its long and rich tradition of alumni support can surely do more.

What I propose to you is a new goal for the School of Dentistry — a goal for scholarships that far exceeds what we’re currently doing. It is my hope that we can increase our scholarship endowments to $20 million by the end of this decade. On our way to achieving this goal, we can begin awarding $1 million per year in scholarships by 2008.

It’s a challenging goal — no doubt about it. We will have to triple our scholarship endowments. But we can do it, and more importantly it’s absolutely essential that we do. With your strong support, we can make this happen.

I look forward to seeing you in March at the Annual Alumni Meeting and Midwest Dental Conference. And, as always, best wishes to you and your families.

Michael J. Reed, B.D.S., Ph.D
Dean