A proposed dental program on the Kirksville, MO, campus of A.T. Still University (ATSU) will be moving forward, the university announced in a press conference today.
The Kirksville program will be a branch campus of the dental program at ATSU's Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health in Mesa, AZ.
However, before the new dental program can be finalized, capital requests must be approved by the ATSU Board of Trustees and the program must achieve accreditation from the Commission on Dental Accreditation and the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association, according to Carl Bynum, MPH, chair of the ATSU Board of Trustees.
If these two requirements are met, the first group of students will enter the program in fall 2013 and graduate in May 2017. The size of the first class is anticipated to be between 40 and 50 students.
The new dental program will partner with several community health centers (CHCs) around Missouri, including one in Kirksville run by the Northeast Missouri Health Council. Students will study in Kirksville for the first two years of the program and rotate into training slots at CHC locations around the state, including the CHC in Kirksville.
Faculty and staff will need to be hired for the first two years of instruction, as well as for supervising students in the third- and fourth-year CHC rotations.
"A dental program on the Kirksville campus of ATSU is perfectly aligned with the mission of the university and the vision of the board to address an unmet patient need in Missouri and to serve rural locations and underserved populations," ATSU President Jack Magruder said.
Magruder indicated that an ATSU presence in Orlando, FL, is no longer being considered but that a dental program in San Diego is still a "strong possibility."
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