Steven Haas, dean of the School of Dentistry since 2021, announced his resignation on November 1. Haas has played a vital role in shaping plans for new teaching clinics in the Healthcare Delivery and Innovation Building that will open in 2026. School of Pharmacy Dean Russ Melchert has stepped in as interim dean as he did during a dean transition several years ago at the School of Dentistry.
UMKC launched a national search for the next dean of the School of Dentistry, seeking a leader with the vision and energy to guide the school into a new phase of academic, clinical and research excellence. The new dean will strengthen and continue our tradition of being a model oral healthcare education institution. The dean will play a critical role in expanding upon the school’s excellence by elevating academic and clinical services in the new Healthcare Delivery and Innovation Building, a $145 million capital project that will provide state-of-the-art clinical teaching and healthcare services to the community. UMKC is working with the higher-education executive search firm Greenwood, Asher & Associates. The search committee is listed below.
Search Committee Members
- Chair, Brian Klaas, dean of Henry W. Bloch School of Management
- Sumeet Dua, vice chancellor for research
- Nick Rogers, immediate past chair, Rinehart Foundation
- Laura Beard, senior student services coordinator, School of Dentistry
- Jeffrey Primos, assistant dean, School of Dentistry
- Gustavo Leal, clinical assistant professor and director, Advanced Standing Dental Program
- Erin Bumann, associate professor, School of Dentistry
- Tanya Gibson, associate professor, School of Dentistry
- Cynthia Petrie, professor, Dr. George Tanaka Hawaii Professor of Restorative Dentistry and chair of the Department of Restorative Clinical Science
- Tanya Mitchell, professor and chair division of Dental Hygiene
- Jason Firth, president of the American Student Dental Association
- Joe Spalitto, School of Dentistry alumnus
- Jeffrey Kagihara, School of Dentistry alumnus
- Melanie Simmer-Beck, professor, chair of Dental Public Health and Behavioral Science, interim chair of Oral and Craniofacial Sciences and director of the STAHR Program