Dean of the School of Dentistry


Search for the Dean of the School of Dentistry

Creighton University

Omaha, Nebraska

Creighton University, a private, Jesuit, Catholic university seeks a visionary leader to serve as the next Dean of the School of Dentistry. The Creighton School of Dentistry already has a national reputation as a top producer of dentists that are ready to practice upon graduation who also have deeply ingrained passions for excellence in dentistry, collaborative care for patients, and serving the underserved. The School is committed to improving the health of the broader community and treats more than 14,000 active patients each year through a Dental Clinic. The School is housed in a beautiful new state of the art $84 million dollar 200,000 square feet facility that also includes the clinic, classrooms, research space, simulation laboratories, and faulty office space. In efforts to even better serve the community, the facility will also be the home base for the Mutual of Omaha Collaborative Care Office, where the School of Dentistry, Pharmacy and Health Professions, and Medicine and College of Nursing will merge to offer a wide variety of services in one location to patients. This is a tremendous opportunity for the next dean to build upon these existing strengths, capitalize on the opportunities afforded by the new building, and better position the School as a leader in dental education and collaborative care for the next generation of dentists and the patients they serve.  

Since its founding in 1905, the Creighton University School of Dentistry has prepared more than 5,000 dentists for lives of professional excellence, community leadership, and compassionate service. Creighton dental alumni operate in all 50 states and around the world. More than 2,000 applicants completed for the 115 available seats in 2019 and enrollment at the School now tops 400. Students are served by 183 faculty, including 73 full-time faculty, who are dedicated to dental education, clinical care, and research.  The School offers the D.D.S., a Master of Science in Oral Biology, and a post-baccalaureate pre-dental certificate program.

The Dean will be a leader in dental education, academically accomplished, and able to demonstrate business acumen along with a track record of successful interdisciplinary collaboration. The Dean will also foster an environment that attracts and retains the best faculty, staff, and students who can meet the changing needs of the profession, and who will implement Creighton’s commitment to compassion, leadership, professionalism, creativity, service, and social justice that reflects Ignatian humanism and Creighton’s Catholic, Jesuit heritage. The Dean will also expand and diversify revenue sources, including cultivating private donors and new partnerships, and will enhance vital relationships with alumni, colleagues, and the community. The dean will work to address the rising costs of dental education and make a dental education affordable for students from all backgrounds who will go on to serve their community.  To that end, the Dean will address a key set of opportunities and challenges:

  • Continue to deliver industry best dental education that embodies the values of Creighton
  • Recruit, develop, and retain exceptional and diverse faculty and staff
  • Bolster inter-professional education and collaborative care efforts in the School and throughout the Creighton Community
  • Ensure an administrative infrastructure that supports institutional growth and innovation
  • Champion a welcoming and inclusive climate that serves an increasingly diverse population
  • Leverage alumni network to understand challenges in the field, provide opportunities to current students, and increase donor relationships

Creighton has retained Isaacson, Miller, a national executive search firm, to assist in this search. Screening of complete applications will begin immediately and continue until the completion of the search process. This is a confidential search. The names of candidates, including finalists, will not be made public. Members of the campus community invited to participate in the finalist visits will be required to sign Acknowledgement of Confidentiality forms. For more details, including the full position profile and to submit inquiries, nominations, referrals, and applications, please see the Isaacson, Miller website for the search: http://www.imsearch.com/7767. Electronic submission of materials is strongly encouraged.

Julie Filizetti and Drew Kessler

Isaacson, Miller

1000 Sansome Street, Suite 300

San Francisco, CA 94105-4128

Phone: 415.655.4900

Fax: 415.655.4905

In accordance with the applicable Federal Laws and Regulations, Creighton University is committed to providing a safe and nondiscriminatory educational and employment environment. The University admits qualified students and hires qualified employees without regard to race, color, religion, sex, marital status, national origin, age, disability, citizenship, sexual orientation, veteran status, or other status protected by law.