Partners in Progress

It has been said that behind every great man is a great woman. That was certainly true for Dr. Roy Rinehart and his wife, Myrtle. His dedication to ensuring the dental school’s survival and excellence were echoed by Myrtle. As dean, Dr. Rinehart was not only an accomplished clinician, but an astute businessman as well. His business acumen also served the Rineharts well as they built a successful sideline in real estate. As part of that venture, Myrtle designed houses as a hobby, and Roy built them. Over the decades, their financial resources were always at the disposal of the school. When Myrtle died in 1972, she once again demonstrated her lifelong devotion to the School when she bequeathed the entire Rinehart estate to the UMKC School of Dentistry. Today, the legacy of that bequest lives on in the Myrtle Rinehart Scholarship fund, which annually awards financial support to dental and dental hygiene students. Another lasting legacy of the Rineharts is the Rinehart General Scholarship, whose charter states, “The various donors have many affiliations with the School, but their purpose is one — to assist dental and dental hygiene students at the UMKC School of Dentistry with reaching their educational goals.”