Richie Bigham, assistant dean of Student Programs, is serving as a workshop trainer for the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) Holistic Review Workshop program, which aids dental institutions in addressing and reviewing admission policies, procedures and practices.
Robert Blundell (BS ’75, DDS ’79), clinical assistant professor and chair of the Department of Endodontics, was honored with the Elmer F. Pierson Good Teaching Award in Dentistry at the 2016 UMKC Celebration of Excellence Faculty and Staff Awards event on Tuesday, April 26, in Pierson Auditorium.
Brett Ferguson (DDS ’81, DOMX ’90), a longtime chair of the UMKC Department of Oral Surgery and Hospital Dentistry, accepted the Health Equity Award from the Black Health Care Coalition at the Intercontinental Hotel, August 19, 2016. Also, Dr. Ferguson is among the first group of oral surgeons to be inducted into the American College of Surgeons.
Dr. Vesna-Lea Ferrer, clinical assistant professor in the Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, received the 2016 James A. McNamara Orthodontic Faculty Development Fellowship Award from the American Association of Orthodontists Foundation. Dr. Ferrer’s application consisted of four developmental plans for education, teaching skills, clinical skills and research. Her research project is entitled “Learning objectives for predoctoral orthodontics curricular content in the level of growth and development.”
John K. Kiesendahl (DDS ’67) participated in the Dental Morphology/Occlusion section of the National Board Review Live Webinar in November 2015 under the direction of Associate Dean Dr. Cindy Amyot. He also received the Lab Faculty of the Year award from the DDS Class of 2019.
Valorie Moore-Porter, business support specialist II, has taken on the additional responsibility of serving as Staff Development Leader to work with the leadership of the Staff Council to plan development activities for the dental school staff.
Dr. Pam Overman (DH ’72, MS ’80), associate dean for Academic Affairs, has been honored with the Esther Wilkins Lifetime Achievement Award. The award, presented by the publication Dimensions in Dental Hygiene and sponsored by Colgate, is founded on the values embodied by Esther M. Wilkins, BS, RDH, DMD, known as the “matriarch of dental hygiene.”
John Rapley (DDS ’73), professor and former chair of the Department of Periodontics, was honored with the Missouri Governor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching at the 2016 UMKC Celebration of Excellence Faculty and Staff Awards event held Tuesday, April 26, in Pierson Auditorium.
Julie Sutton, assistant professor in the Division of Dental Hygiene, Melynda Meredith (DDS ’07), assistant clinical professor in the Department of Restorative Clinical Sciences, and Dr. Vesna-Lea Ferrer, clinical assistant professor in the Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, have been selected to participate in the 2016-17 cohort of the UMKC/UM Faculty Scholars Program, which is designed to support the efforts of the University to acclimate and retain new faculty members.
Connie White (DDS ’81), director of Patient Relations and assistant dean for Community Relations and Communication, was elected as the new national secretary of the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD) at its annual meeting last summer in Boston, Mass.