School of Dentistry Wins HEED Award

The University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Dentistry has received a 2016 Health Professions Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education. UMKC is one of only three dental schools in the country to be recognized.

As a recipient of the Health Professions HEED Award — a national honor recognizing U.S. medical, dental, pharmacy, osteopathic, nursing and allied health schools that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion — UMKC School of Dentistry will be featured, along with 30 other recipients, in the December 2016 issue of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine.

“We are honored to receive this acknowledgement of our efforts to develop programs, recruitment tools and strategies that broaden our thinking and actions, plus a culture of appreciation, inclusion and diversity which underpins our core values as a school,” said Marsha Pyle, dean of the UMKC School of Dentistry.

INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine selected the UMKC School of Dentistry for several reasons:

• Commitment as an urban-serving university to be engaged in the community
• Developing innovative and successful pipeline programs
• Working with University Academy, a K-12 charter school, to establish a dental clinic in the community

“Through our efforts, we anticipate that our graduates will be better prepared for the workforce of the future,” Pyle said.

The Health Professions HEED Award process consists of a comprehensive and rigorous application that includes questions relating to the recruitment and retention of students and employees — and best practices for both — continued leadership support for diversity, and other aspects of campus diversity and inclusion, said Lenore Pearlstein, publisher of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine.

“We take a holistic approach to reviewing each application in deciding who will be named a HEED Award recipient,” Pearlstein said. “Our standards are high, and we look for institutions where diversity and inclusion are woven into the work being accomplished every day across their campus.”