WHEN I BEGAN dental school in 1974, I never imagined I would be chair of the Rinehart Foundation. It is particularly an honor because of the foundation’s namesake, the man remembered for making UMKC School of Dentistry one of the most prestigious and oldest schools (traced back to 1881) in the country through his selfless devotion to its growth. Thanks to your donations, the Rinehart Foundation provides scholarships, fellowships, professorships, professional development and projects that advance oral health.

Dental school did not come easy for me. I had much help attaining an education that gave me an incredibly rewarding profession, and I am not referring to monetary rewards. Christie, my wife, and I give regularly to the Rinehart Foundation. We do this so future students will have the same opportunity I had.

To keep our dental school at the top, we need to attract the best students, especially those from underrepresented communities. This is accomplished through the many scholarships made available through your generous donations and endowments. Working with the UMKC Foundation, we have received additional financial help for students through community partners. This year, we have been able to help 206 students with $1,257,222 in scholarships.

We also need to have an updated facility to attract students and provide the needed dental treatment for our community. When I began dental school, our facility was only a couple of years old. It had all the latest technology and was truly state-of-the-art. Times have changed, and our facility has fallen behind. The University of Missouri-Kansas City is poised to begin work on a new $120 million interprofessional health sciences building in the UMKC Health Sciences District. With Chancellor C. Mauli Agrawal’s vision of the UMKC Health Sciences District and the exciting leadership of Dean Haas, we will be building new state-of-the-art dental clinics.

I look forward to working with you to grow Dr. Rinehart’s rich tradition of giving and helping the next generation succeed. Working together, there will be great things in our school’s future.

Thank you from the Rinehart Board, the staff, and especially, the students at UMKC School of Dentistry.

Dr. Nick Rogers (D.D.S. ’78) Chair, Rinehart Foundation