The UMKC School of Dentistry was awarded second place at the 2016 ADEA Commission on Change and Innovation conference in New Orleans, La. This year’s meeting, titled “Thinking Innovatively,” hosted a competition among the 34 schools in attendance to creatively present an innovation from the attendee’s school.
For Round One — “Learning How to Assess Innovation” — Dr. Bonnie Branson, professor and director of External Rotation Sites in the Department of Dental Public Health and Behavioral Science, along with Dr. Cynthia Amyot (DH ’92, MS ’93), professor and associate dean for Instructional Technology and Faculty Development, and Dr. Marsha Pyle, dean of the School of Dentistry, prepared a poster highlighting the School’s proposal to establish a satellite dental program at Missouri Southern State University in Joplin, Mo.
Dr. Branson represented UMKC in all three rounds of the competition. Ten finalists from Round One advanced to Round Two (“Making Your Case for Innovation”) during which a panel of dental education experts determined the top three innovative ideas.
The Final Round (“Innovation Stadium”) challenged the finalists to compete in an innovative skills game highlighting their ability to think creatively in the moment. As the second-place winner, UMKC was awarded $3,000 that will go toward funding the satellite dental program.
