Dr. Linda Niessen serves as Vice Provost for Oral Health Affairs for Kansas City University (KCU) and Founding Dean and Professor for the KCU College of Dental Medicine in Joplin, Missouri.  Dr. Niessen is a diplomate of the American Board of Dental Public Health and the American Board of Special Care Dentistry. Her academic career includes serving as a clinician caring for medically complex and geriatric patients at several VA Medical Centers. Dr. Niessen has served as president of the Santa Fe Group, Dallas County Dental Society, American Association of Women Dentists, American Association of Public Health Dentistry, American Board of Dental Public Health, Friends of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, and the American Academy of Esthetic Dentistry. She has served as a member of Advisory Councils for the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research and the US Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration. Dr. Niessen received her Bachelor?s degree in Chemistry (Phi Beta Kappa) from the University of New Mexico. She received her dental degree (DMD cum laude), her Masters in Public Health degree (MPH) and her Masters in Public Policy degree (MPP), all from Harvard University. Her passion lies in identifying programs, models and partnerships that improve the oral health of the public, whether through education, research, reimbursement, new technologies and/or community service programs.