Faculty, staff and students from across the School of Dentistry collected nearly $1,500 for the Dr. Jacob McGuire Scholarship at the annual Students Take Action Minute to Win It Lunch. The series of five games ended with the DDS Class of 2020 claiming first place. The donation of the proceeds honors the memory of Dr. McGuire, who left a legacy of caring as a doctor, mentor, teacher and friend.
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McArthur is Kiwi of the Year
Dr. Carole McArthur, MD, professor in the Department of Oral and Craniofacial Sciences, was named a 2019 Kiwi of the Year Award recipient from the University of New Zealand. Dr. McArthur, who teaches immunology and immunopathology, has set up research and treatment clinics in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Cameroon. She is the director of AfriHealth Partnerships International and regularly visits the Democratic Republic of Congo.
DH Honor Society President
MARSHA A. VOELKER, CDA, RDH, MS, associate professor at the School of Dentistry, was elected president of Sigma Phi Alpha, the national dental hygiene honor society. Voelker joined UMKC in 2007. She also is junior clinic coordinator in the Division of Dental Hygiene. Her areas of expertise and interests are dental biomaterials, motivational interviewing and use of various classroom technologies, dental hygiene instruction and forensic dentistry.
‘Most Notable’ Articles
Dr. Cindy Amyot (BSDH ’92, MSDH ’93, ESD ’00, EdD), professor and associate dean, and Dr. Pam Overman (BSDH ’70, MSDH ’80, EdD), professor emeritus and associate dean emeritus for academic affairs, wrote articles that were chosen for the Journal of Dental Education’s Most Notable Articles of 2018 list. The titles of their articles are “Implementation of Portfolios as a Programmatic Global Assessment Measure in Dental Education” and “Identifying Needs to Ensure a Humanistic Academic Dental Environment: A Multi-Site Survey of Dental Students’ Perspectives.”
Samuel Rodgers Award
Dr. Michael McCunniff (DDS ’83) has received the Dr. Samuel Rodgers Achievement Award, the Missouri Primary Care Association’s highest honor. Dr. McCunniff was honored for his efforts to attract dentists to work at community health centers, which serve areas and populations that otherwise might not have access to care. Dr. McCunniff is the school’s director of outreach and chair of the Department of Dental Public Health and Behavioral Science. Continue reading
New faculty
Christine Baker has joined the faculty as a clinical assistant professor in the Division of Dental Hygiene. After receiving her BSDH (’13) from UMKC, she worked as a part-time adjunct clinical instructor. She expects to complete her MEd program at the University of Missouri-Columbia this year. Continue reading
Determination, Helping Hands Foster Success
A year after graduation, Dr. Anna Jobe (DDS ’18) has her own practice and is carrying on her mother’s legacy. To do that, she overcame tremendous obstacles — attracted and aided by the School of Dentistry’s Admissions Enhancement Program, now STAHR Scholars Dentistry. Continue reading
Prepping for success
The UMKC School of Dentistry, with help from a federal grant, has expanded and renamed its program for recruiting and encouraging students from underserved populations.
The school is sharing a five-year, $3.2 million grant with the UMKC School of Medicine and School of Pharmacy. It is known as a STAHR grant, for Students in Training in Academia, Health and Research, and comes from the United States Health Resources and Services Administration. Continue reading
Royals Opening Day
The rain didn’t dampen the spirts of the alumni, students and friends who gathered for another fun Dental Alumni Opening Day for the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium on March 28. Attendees enjoyed pre-game tailgating with Kansas City barbecue from Jack Stack, and then the hardy group headed into the stadium to watch the Royals beat the Chicago White Sox, 5-3. Alumni continue to love celebrating Royals Opening Day, a tradition started by Dr. John Haynes.
A ‘Par-Tee’ for Scholarships
Golfers enjoyed a fantastic outing May 31 at Shoal Creek Golf Course for the annual UMKC Dental Alumni Scholarship Golf Tournament. Attendees were treated to food, fun and some antics by way of wingspan drawings, putting contests and a few mulligans. Continue reading