Lori Haxton, Vice President for Student Affairs

Lori Haxton was recently appointed as Vice President for Student Affairs. She has been with ATSU since 1988, in the positions of Director of Admissions & Enrollment Services, Assistant Dean for Student Services, Associate Vice President for Student & Alumni Services, and Associate Vice President for Admissions & Student Affairs, as well as Interim Vice President.

Jack Dillenberg, DDS, MPH, inaugural dean, ATSU-ASDOH is the recipient of the 2012 Arizona Medical Association (ArMA) Humanitarian Award. The ArMA Humanitarian Award recognizes programs and individuals who go above and beyond their given profession to help underserved communities receive medical care and other healthcare services that lead to the betterment of their lives.

Dr. Dillenberg’s colleague, Dr. Roy Holexa, had the following to share about Dr. Dillenberg’s work at ASDOH. “Dr. Jack Dillenberg, was inspired to found the dental school – Arizona’s first – in 2002, after three decades of service to vulnerable and underserved populations as a public health official with the World Bank working in Calcutta, India, the Jamaican Ministry of Health and the Arizona Department of Health Services. His vision of engendering passion in students to serve in areas of greatest need is now a reality. Dr. Dillenberg characterizes service in three ways – serving individual patients, impacting global health, and sharing what it means to serve others.”

Unable to attend ATSU-SOMA and ATSU-ASDOH graduation ceremonies?

The ATSU-SOMA and ATSU-ASDOH commencement ceremonies will be web-streamed LIVE from Comerica Theatre on June 8, 2012, beginning at 3 p.m. for ATSU-SOMA and 6 p.m. for ATSU-ASDOH.
You will be able to access the streaming video from the ATSU website at http://www.atsu.edu/videostream/

PLEASE NOTE: The streaming video will not be available once the ceremonies conclude. However, a DVD of the ceremony will be available for purchase ($15) approximately eight weeks after graduation.

Mesa, Ariz., Mayor Scott Smith, Arizona Diamondbacks President & CEO Derrick Hall, and ATSU-ASDOH Dean Jack Dillenberg as well as other guests were present for the ribbon-cutting and dedication of the Arizona Diamondbacks Pediatric Dental Suite held on June 4.

ATSU-ASDOH is a recipient of the Arizona Diamondbacks premier Grand Slam award given to non-profit organizations serving Arizona. The $50,000 award establishes the Arizona Diamondbacks Pediatric Dental Suite at ATSU-ASDOH’s dental clinic in Mesa. The dental suite consists of two child-friendly rooms that offer a warm, nurturing environment for children to receive care.

“We are taking our young patients out to the ball park without leaving their dental chair thanks to the generosity of the Arizona Diamondbacks,” said ATSU-ASDOH Dean Jack Dillenberg, DDS, MPH. “Our pediatric patients will receive the best dental care in a fun environment with mascot Baxter and views of center field.”

Added Mayor Scott Smith, “The work that is done at ATSU-ASDOH impacts people not only in their childhood but for a lifetime.”
[read more]

Funding establishes pediatric dental suite for underserved children

MESA, Ariz. – The Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation has announced that A.T. Still University’s Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health (ATSU-ASDOH) is a recipient of its premier Grand Slam Award given to non-profit organizations serving Arizona.

The $50,000 award establishes the Arizona Diamondbacks Pediatric Dental Suite at ATSU-ASDOH’s dental clinic in Mesa. The dental suite consists of two child-friendly rooms that offer a warm, nurturing environment for children to receive care.

“We are taking our young patients out to the ball park without leaving their dental chair thanks to the generosity of the Arizona Diamondbacks,” said ATSU-ASDOH Dean Jack Dillenberg, DDS, MPH. “Our pediatric patients will receive the best dental care in a fun environment with Baxter and views of center field.”

The pediatric dental suite will allow an increase in the existing clinic’s capacity by 19.9 percent from current levels as well as help ATSU-ASDOH students to improve their knowledge about the specialty of pediatric dental care.

A portion of the funds from the Grand Slam Award will go toward providing uncompensated oral care for children from low-income families. Children ages birth to 12 from working poor families receive care at ATSU-ASDOH’s pediatric clinic. Most of them are uninsured (93.77 percent) or have parents who are either unemployed or are struggling to pay their bills.

“We are proud of the new D-backs pediatric dental suite at A.T. Still University and are thrilled that this grant will assist families that are unable to afford proper dental care treatments,” said D-backs President & CEO Derrick Hall. “The suite looks fantastic, and we know that it will put smiles on the faces of many young D-backs fans in the years to come.”

The Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation established the Grand Slam Awards in 2002 to make a larger impact on community organizations by providing a grant for up to $100,000. The D-backs will award five local organizations with Grand Slam Awards throughout the 2012 season, including A.T. Still University ($50,000), Make-A-Wish Foundation ($50,000), Kitchen on the Street ($100,000), Florence Crittenton ($100,000), and Children’s Museum of Phoenix ($100,000). The grants are made possible by fundraising efforts by the Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation and by contributions from the D-backs partnership group.

About ATSU-ASDOH

The first dental school in Arizona and the nation’s first truly public health dental school, ATSU’s Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health has been educating dentists and serving the state’s oral healthcare needs since 2003. The school and dental clinic use an educational model that matches an exceptional team of motivated, experienced faculty with students in pre-clinical and clinical phases of their training.

ATSU-ASDOH places special emphasis on patient care experiences through simulation, integration of biomedical and clinical sciences, and problem-solving scenarios to achieve clinical experience and includes a strong component of public health, leadership, and practice.

In addition to oral health issues and dentistry skills, students are encouraged to be caring, community-minded healthcare providers. Graduates are expected to become leaders in their communities and managers of public, not-for-profit, and private sector oral health organizations.

About the Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation

Established in 1997, the Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation focuses its efforts in three main areas of need: homelessness, indigent healthcare, and children’s programs of all types, including education and youth baseball field development. Through fundraising activities, the team’s charitable arm has raised and donated more than $30 million to the Arizona community. The cornerstone of giving for the foundation is the “Diamonds Back” Field Building Program, which has built or refurbished more than 30 youth baseball fields in Arizona since 2000. The D-backs became the first professional sports team to win the inaugural 2010 United Nations NGO Positive Peace Award, which names the organization as the most positive team in the world and recognizes organizations that positively impact their community through corporate responsibility.

The 8th Annual Still Spirit Awards and banquet was held April 30. Four deserving individuals, who embody the spirit of Dr. Andrew Taylor Still, were selected for the award.

The 2012 award recipients included Royce Kallerud, Troy Mihalevich, Roger Johnson, and Doyle Dover. Kallerud, recognized for his professional and volunteer efforts with the Forest Lake Area Trails System (FLATS) committee, helped make the four-mile walking/biking trail project a reality. Mihalevich was recognized for his part in bringing more than 50 automated external defibrillators to Kirksville with NEMO Heart Health. Johnson was noted for his volunteerism and charity fundraising for many causes, including the Adair County Public Library and the creation of the hall of fame display for Truman State University athletes. Dover was honored for his efforts helping local cancer patients travel to and from treatment in Houston, Texas, guiding them along the way and offering a caring hand as a life-coach.

Our distinguished nominees included: Myra Baiotto, Randy Behrens, Pat and Eleanor Ellebracht, the “I Think I Can Foundation” (Dr. Jerry and Susan Stremel, Karla Dwyer, Micki Miller, and Mark Whitney), Jamey and Bridget Morton, Ken Read, Marilyn and Jeff Romine, Dr. George Scheurer, The Honorable Kristie Swaim, Steve and Judy Taylor, Larry Whitney, and John and Shawn Wichmann. All of the honorees and nominees are helping make northeast Missouri a great place to live.

The ASDOH chapter (Beta Alpha) of Omicron Kappa Upsilon (OKU) national dental honor society held its annual convocation and induction on May 15 at Superstition Springs Golf  Club in Mesa, Ariz. Eight members from the class of 2012 (see photo) were elected into the society as well as faculty inductee, Herb Kaufman, associate dean, Clinical Operations, ASDOH.

The Kramer award was presented to student inductee Corbin Popp, D3.  ASDOH Inaugural Dean Jack Dillenberg, an OKU member, gave the welcome address. The guest speaker for the evening was OKU member Roger Cooper, DDS, PhD, associate professor, ASDOH.

ATSU’s physical therapy orthopedic residency program has received notification of credentialing by the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) as a post-professional residency program for physical therapists in orthopedics.

“The residency curriculum is designed to elevate the professional’s clinical skills and knowledge from a general practitioner to that of a clinical specialist in orthopedic physical therapy,” said Cheri Hodges, PT, DPT, MAppSc, OCS, FAAOMPT, director, orthopedic residency program. Upon completion of the residency program residents are prepared to take the orthopedic board certification exam with the APTA and practice patient-centered, evidence-based orthopedic physical therapy at the competence level of an orthopedic clinical specialist.

There are only 11 other university-based orthopedic residency programs in the United States.

Dr. and Mrs. Jack Magruder

A beautiful love story began in a class registration line on the campus of what is now Truman State University; it was June 4, 1954, and a young Jack Magruder met a young lady named Sue Brimer and boldly struck up a conversation. Just months later they married and have been together ever since. They have three children: Julie, Kerry, and Laura—and seven grandchildren. Anyone who knows the family knows that the Jack-and-Sue love story is an enduring one.

A second love story is Magruder’s lifelong passion for education. He earned his degrees, including a doctorate, in mathematics and chemistry. He worked in a lab for a while mixing chemicals (often radioactive) and experimenting with new combinations, when he realized one day that this was not the job for him. He loved people, loved learning, and knew he wanted to help others learn. He decided to teach.  [read more]

Bernadette Mineo, PhD, OTR/L, associate professor and chair, Occupational Therapy department, has been selected for the editorial board of the Open Journal of Occupational Therapy (OJOT).

OJOT is a new peer-reviewed, open-access journal with a mission to publish high-quality articles that focus on applied research, practice, and education in the occupational therapy profession.