GEHA Solutions has increased its scholarship commitment to UMKC School of Dentistry by $70,000 in 2023, helping the school welcome its most culturally diverse incoming class ever.
The Lee’s Summit-based company is contributing a total of $220,000 in scholarships created to fund opportunities for students representing historically marginalized communities. Last year, GEHA Solutions contributed $150,000. This year’s funding includes eight $20,000 scholarships for incoming dental students, six $5,000 scholarships for incoming dental hygiene students and $30,000 to support 15 student fellowships for the Students Training in Academia, Health and Research (STAHR) program.
According to Richie Bigham, assistant dean for student programs, the School of Dentistry was able to offer the scholarships with its letters of acceptance this year, allowing the funding to be a strong factor in the decision-making process for several incoming students.
“Throughout my time at the school, we’ve had many exceptional underrepresented students accepted and desiring to attend, but we haven’t been as attractive as other programs when it came to scholarships and cost,” Bigham said. “This cycle was different, and it looks like we will have the most culturally diverse dental class in our history.”
Jenna Mills, vice president of GEHA Solutions, is hopeful her organization can be a model for others to support diversity in the dental field. She acknowledges that commitment will need to happen industry- wide to see real change.
“Positive change is possible when we all start somewhere,” said Mills. “Transactional commitments, like only writing checks, create limited impact. There must be mutually beneficial relationships and an understanding of the upstream issues that affect health inequities in America.”
Ultimately, GEHA Solutions officials hope contributions and commitments like theirs will spark an improvement in the overall health of the community. According to the Centers for Disease Control, a person’s oral health and their overall health are often connected. When a person feels comfortable and begins to see their dentist regularly, health conditions such as diabetes and oral cancer can be caught and treated earlier, leading to a better quality of life.
“In the UMKC School of Dentistry, we have partners who believe in this kind of measurable success,” Mills said. “We knew our investments would reap ripples of change, but, in one year, to see that our partnership positively influenced the most diverse incoming class in the school’s 140-plus year history? It’s something to celebrate.”