A message from School of Dentistry Dean Elsbeth Kalenderian

Dear valued colleagues,

We are off and running in the new academic year and I am eager to commemorate many recent accomplishments highlighted below and in this month’s Behind the Smiles newsletter.

As the building is buzzing again and our newest class of 100 students continues to acclimate to our school, I wish to share some details about their class profile. We received more than 2,600 applications, and our wonderful Admissions team conducted 480 interviews to reach our precise class size. Our Class of 2028 welcomes students from 15 states — 19% are first-generation college students and 19% represent a minority population.

I am very excited that our beautifully renovated Delta Dental Clinic for Special Needs and Urgent Care and Pediatrics Clinic are now open, putting MUSoD at the forefront of care and education in these fields. I want to thank Dr. Shah, Dr. Mapes, Dr. Gonzalez and the many other campus collaborators who played a part in modernizing these clinics, and I look forward to seeing the work that will be done in these spaces for years to come.

On Sept. 4, we had the honor of hosting the Wisconsin Dental Examining Board’s bi-monthly meeting at the School of Dentistry for the first time ever. Bethany Leonardi and I provided a tour for attendees, who were thrilled to see the updates and innovations being made at our school. This was an important occasion for MUSoD, as it represents our strong partnership with state and community leaders.

In this newsletter, you will read (if you haven’t already) two stories about a few people who embody “Be The Difference.” Those features – about D4 student Jealynn Holtz and about Brian and Carol Trecek – were two of the most-read stories in Marquette Today for the month of August and are evidence that there is high interest in our digital storytelling efforts. I encourage you to share your accomplishments and ideas, which you can do here or at the bottom of the newsletter email, so we may continue to shine a light on all MUSoD has to offer.

With all this to build upon, I look forward to another great year at Marquette!

Sincerely, 

Dr. Elsbeth Kalenderian 

Dean and Professor 
Marquette University School of Dentistry