University Of Southern Nevada
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN NEVADA
Community Spotlight
Richard Buchanan, DMD Appointed Dean of the University of Southern Nevada College of Dental Medicine
Today, Dr. Harry Rosenberg, president of the private, non-profit University of Southern Nevada, announced the appointment of Richard Buchanan, DMD as dean of the USN College of Dental Medicine, effective June 1, 2010. Dr. Buchanan will be based at the university’s South Jordan, Utah campus where plans are underway for the launch of the first pre-doctoral dental program in the state in Fall 2011.
“We are very pleased to welcome Dr. Buchanan to University of Southern Nevada,” said Dr. Rosenberg. “Through his more than 35-year academic career, he has developed the depth of knowledge and variety of skills required to guide the development of our growing College of Dental Medicine. Dr. Buchanan’s experience collaborating with administration, faculty and staff to develop academic and clinical programs, as well as his background in administration, will be of tremendous benefit both to the College of Dental Medicine and to our institution as a whole.”
As dean of the USN’s College of Dental Medicine, Dr. Buchanan will play a critical role developing the Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) program at its South Jordan, Utah campus, including overseeing the development of clinical and classroom facilities, curriculum and faculty.
“I’m very proud to contribute to the development of a truly innovative DMD program that promises to emerge as a national model by incorporating USN’s unique curriculum design, student-centered educational philosophies of mastery learning and outcomes-based education,” said Dr. Buchanan. “USN has created excellent programs in Pharmacy and Nursing, achieving academic outcomes that have rapidly earned national recognition. I look forward to creating for Utah a first-class institution offering the highest quality of dental education.”
Currently, Dr. Buchanan is dean emeritus at the School of Dental Medicine at University at Buffalo – State University of New York. He has been with UB-SUNY since 2002, previously serving as dean through 2009. Prior to joining UB-SUNY, he served as dean and interim vice president at Baylor College of Dentistry – The Texas A&M University System in Dallas from 1996 to 2002. His earlier experience also includes service as dean and in other administrative and faculty roles at the dental schools at University of Medicine and Dentistry, New Jersey Dental School and the University of Texas Health Science Center Dental School at San Antonio.
Throughout his career, Dr. Buchanan has been a member of numerous honorary, professional, community and university organizations, taking an active role to support faculty, student, research and academic dental groups. He has served the American Dental Association as a member and vice-chair of the Council on Dental Education and Licensure. He has served the American Dental Education Association in a variety of capacities, most recently as Chair of the Council of Deans. He currently serves on the Commission on Dental Accreditation and as director of the Deans’ Institute.
Dr. Buchanan has received a variety of university and teaching awards and donated a tremendous amount of time and energy to community service. His scholarly activities have focused on teaching and innovations in-patient care and education systems, particularly instructional and evaluation methodology; and he has published papers and abstracts and given numerous invited presentations in these areas of scholarly interest.
Dr. Buchanan earned his Doctor of Dental Medicine from the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine in Philadelphia.
The USN College of Dental Medicine was established in 2007 at the university’s Henderson, Nev. campus. The college’s first post-doctoral dental residency program, Advanced Education in Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics/Master of Business Administration, admitted its first residents in July 2008. The residency program is the first in the United States to require an MBA to develop residents’ business and financial competency, all of which are essential in operating a successful practice in today’s complex health care business environment.
USN’s South Jordan campus was established in 2006 and initially offered a Doctor of Pharmacy through the university’s College of Pharmacy. The university’s College of Nursing admitted its first class of Bachelor of Science in Nursing students at the campus in January 2010.