Denise Kassebaum appointed dean
of the CU School of Dentistry
 |
| Denise K. Kassebaum, DDS, MS |
The CU Board of Regents approved Kassebaum’s appointment April 12 during a regular meeting. Her appointment follows several years of leadership positions in the CU School of Dentistry, including executive associate dean, associate dean for academic affairs and chair of the division of oral diagnosis, oral medicine and oral radiology. She is a professor in the school’s department of diagnostic and biological sciences, and has served as interim dean since the departure of Howard Landesman, DDS, MEd, who now serves as the director of external relations and diversity for the school.
Kassebaum will assume leadership of the CU School of Dentistry at its new home at the Lazzara Center for Oral-Facial Health on the University of Colorado Denver’s Fitzsimons campus in Aurora.
“This is an exciting time in the school’s history with our recent move to Fitzsimons. Our clinicians and scientists are working collaboratively with faculty across the campus and university to develop new technologies and treatment methods that improve dental treatment and overall health,” Kassebaum said. “I’m honored to be chosen to lead the UCD School of Dentistry and to help shape the next generation of health care providers.”
Kassebaum earned her doctor of dental surgery at the University of Missouri-Kansas
City and her master of science in oral radiology and oral medicine at the University
of Texas Health Science Center-San Antonio. She also completed a fellowship in
the Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) program. While at UCD,
she has won numerous teaching awards, including professor of the year and an
honorary alumnus award.“ Denise’s training, experience and successes on our campus make her the ideal candidate for the position of dean of the School of Dentistry,” said UCD interim chancellor Greg Stiegmann, MD. “She is dedicated not only to advancing the school itself, but is committed to increasing collaborations between dentistry and medicine for the enhancement of patient care.”
Kassebaum is co-director of the Delta Dental Foundation’s Frontier Center, which is dedicated to strengthening ties between dentists and physicians in the belief that such alliances enhance health and lead to better patient care.
