Dear colleagues and friends,
In this issue of the Explorer we take time to say “Thank you!” to the many alumni, friends, faculty, staff and students who devote their time, talent and resources to doing good, to giving back to society by “paying it forward.” The spirit of generosity and sacrifice exemplified by our dental school community makes me immensely proud. As with the popular TV program, The List, we have our own outstanding groups of volunteers, special activities and people to be grateful for because they, in groups and individually, contribute much to making our world a better place. We acknowledge many of them in this issue!
Those we recognize in this edition have provided their time and financial support to help us continue to grow the strength and impact of our programs. Without this generous support, achieving our mission would be impossible! We have done our best to recruit, develop and advance faculty, staff and the best students. We have brought on board and promoted some of the most talented faculty and leaders anywhere! For that, I am extremely proud. We have recently promoted one of our own, Dr. Keerthana Satheesh, as the new chair of the Department of Periodontics and hired another exceptional board certified periodontist, Dr. Scott Gruwell, to direct our Advanced Education Program in Periodontics. You will note the many leadership roles and accolades that our faculty and staff members have accomplished recently. They are a reflection of the quality of the individuals that work to train and develop the next generation of dentists, dental hygienists and advanced education graduates from our programs. We also hear from some recent graduates about the rewards — received and given — from their foray into practice in rural communities.
In service to the community, a number of faculty, staff, students and pre-dental students volunteered their time at the 2016 MOMOM event last summer in Independence, Mo. It was an honor to be a part of such a humbling event. Personal stories from the patients we serve reflect our community’s needs as well as the gratitude the patients expressed for the opportunity to improve their oral health. I received some terrific, unsolicited feedback about the great job our students did at this event. You can see them in action in this edition.
We cannot accomplish our ongoing goals, projects and improvements for our institution and programs without your help. We hope that you will join us this next year in supporting the important projects that help to keep us on the cutting edge of our profession. I hope that you enjoy reading about the many ways our dental school community takes care of the oral health needs of Kansas City and beyond! These are the people who, every day, make a positive impact and pay it forward to those most in need. From new citizens to new specialty diplomates, to leadership trainees, and national leaders, we are grateful that our alumni, faculty, staff, students and friends all call UMKC their dental home!
Thank you for what you do for us!
Sincerely,
Marsha