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KIRKSVILLE, MO. -- It became official Thursday morning, the new ATSU dental school will be locating in Kirksville. The announcement was made by ATSU President Jack Magruder, before a packed house, during a news conference on the ATSU campus in Kirksville. 

The actual announcement was made first by Dr. Carl Bynum, Chair of the ATSU Board of Trustees, who made the announcement from Arizona via telephone to the crowd. The Kirksville program will be a branch campus of the ATSU Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health in Mesa, Arizona. The first group of students is expected to enter the program in the fall of 2013 and graduate in May, 2017. The size of the first class is expected to be between 40 and 50 students, with the possibility of future expansion. 

Dr. Magruder told the crowd the students will study in Kirksville for the first two years, then rotate into training slots at Community Health Centers around the state, including the Northeast Missouri Health Council in Kirksville. Dr. Magruder added, educational partnerships with Truman State University, Moberly Area Community College, and the Kirksville R-III School District are also being discussed.


View the full press release here 

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Rep. Zachary Wyatt Reacts to Announcement of Dental School Addition to A.T. Still University

Jefferson City, MO (February 17, 2011) – State Rep. Zachary Wyatt, R-Green Castle, was pleased to learn that the Board of Trustees of A.T. Still University has decided to expand its dental program to Kirksville. The announcement was made during a press conference Thursday morning.
 
"We all worked very hard and came together as a community to promote the addition of a new dental school to A.T. Still,” said Wyatt. "A new dental school in the Missouri 2nd House District would create jobs in our area and across the state during these tough economic times."
 
The dental school will be the second program of its type in Missouri. A.T. Still University also operates a School of Dentistry & Oral Health in Arizona.



Senator Brian Munzlinger Applauds Addition of Dental School in Northeast Missouri

Jefferson City — State Sen. Brian Munzlinger, R-Williamstown, announced today plans to add a School of Dentistry in Kirksville, on the campus of A.T. Still University (ATSU).

“There is a shortage of dentists in rural Missouri, which has added to the deterioration of health,” Sen. Munzlinger said. “Adding a school at ATSU would help us to fill this gap. Kirksville is a great location for this new school and will help to get more dentists into rural Missouri.”

Senator Munzlinger has been instrumental in talks with Dr. Jack Magruder, President of ATSU’s Kirksville location, citing jobs that would be created with the addition of a School of Dentistry, health benefits from having more dentists in Missouri and continuance of a long-standing tradition of excellence at the university.

“ATSU has spent a great deal of time weighing the benefits of adding this school,” Sen. Munzlinger said. “Now is the time to move forward and add a new school of dentistry at an already great institution for higher learning. I thank everybody involved with this decision and look forward to seeing the new school opened very soon.”


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