Vice Dean, College of Dental Medicine

Job Type:
Staff

Job Description:

Kansas City University (KCU) is seeking a visionary, mission-driven, and collaborative leader to serve as the Vice Dean of the College of Dental Medicine at its Joplin, Missouri campus. The Vice Dean is a key member of the College's leadership team and is responsible for overseeing the academic and clinical operations of the dental program while advancing KCU's mission to improve the well-being of communities-especially in underserved and rural areas across southwest Missouri and the broader four-state region.
The Vice Dean will support the Dean in implementing the strategic vision of the College, managing day-to-day academic and clinical operations, and ensuring compliance with accreditation standards. The ideal candidate will demonstrate a strong commitment to rural oral health, academic excellence, interprofessional education, and community-based clinical education.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Academic Leadership

• Provide oversight for the academic programs within the College, ensuring alignment with KCU's mission, values, and strategic priorities.
• Supervise faculty leaders to ensure delivery of an innovative, student-centered, competency-based curriculum and patient-centered clinical dental care.
• Promote and support a culture of clinical and teaching excellence, scholarly activity, and continuous curricular improvement.
• Ensure compliance with Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) standards and all applicable accreditation and licensure requirements.

Clinical Operations & Community Engagement

• Provide strategic and operational oversight for the College of Dental Medicine Oral Health Center.
• Ensure high-quality, patient-centered care while fostering a strong educational experience for dental students in the CDM Oral Health Center and community based clinical settings.
• Cultivate and maintain partnerships with community health centers, rural clinics, and public health organizations to expand access to care in dental health professional shortage areas (HPSAs).
• Oversee the integration of rural and community-based clinical rotations into the curriculum.

Administrative Leadership

• Collaborate with the Dean and senior leadership on faculty recruitment, development, and evaluation.
• Assist in the development and management of the College's budget, staffing, and resource allocation.
• Participate in strategic planning, enrollment growth efforts, and long-range institutional initiatives.
• Contribute to fundraising and advancement activities that support the College's mission, including scholarships and community outreach initiatives.

Interprofessional and Institutional Collaboration

• Promote interprofessional education, parnterships and collaboration with other KCU colleges, including Osteopathic Medicine, Biomedical Sciences, and Health Professions and external regional universities.
• Represent the College on institutional committees and external boards or associations, as appropriate.

Qualifications:

• DDS/DMD from a CODA-accredited institution.
• Academic achievement at the level of Professor or Associate Professor
• Active dental license (or eligibility for licensure) in the state of Missouri.
• At least 10 years of progressive leadership experience in dental education and/or clinical administration.
• Demonstrated experience in academic leadership, faculty development, curriculum management and accreditation compliance.
• Strong understanding of clinical operations, especially in community or academic settings.
• Commitment to student success, community engagement, outreach and service.

Preferred

• Advanced degree (e.g., MPH, EdD, MBA, PhD).
• Experience working in or developing programs for rural or underserved populations.
• Familiarity with CODA accreditation and academic program assessment.
• Record of scholarly activity or leadership in professional organizations.

Core Competencies

• Strategic and operational leadership
• Student- and patient-centered mindset
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
• Commitment to rural health and community engagement
• Ability to build and lead high-performing academic and clinical teams

Equal Opportunity Employer

KCU is committed to promoting an equal employment opportunity workplace. Equal opportunity is and shall be provided for all employees and applicants for employment on the basis of their demonstrated ability and competence without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, genetic information (GINA), physical or mental disability, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, familial status, ancestry, military and/or veteran status, and/or any other status protected by applicable Federal, state or local law.

Annual Security Report

KCU is committed to providing a safe campus for students, faculty, and staff. Our annual campus security report lists campus crimes and statistics for the campus and public areas around campus for the last three years, in accordance with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act.

Thank you for your interest in a career at KCU!