Niessen named Dean at future KCU College of Dental Medicine

The KCU College of Dental Medicine in Joplin now has a founding Dean– even if it won’t be ready to open until the fall of 2022.

Linda C. Niessen has a doctorate in dental medicine from Harvard and has worked in private industry and education.

KCU announced plans to open the college last year in response to the critical shortage of dentists in the Four-State region.

Niessen comes to KCU from Nova Southeastern University College of Dental Medicine in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where she served as dean and professor.

 “Dr. Niessen possesses a rare breadth and depth of oral health experience that bridges a number of critical disciplines, making her an outstanding choice for leading our new college of dental medicine,” said Marc B. Hahn, DO, KCU president and CEO. 

In June 2019, KCU announced plans to open a College of Dental Medicine in response to the critical shortage of dentists in the four-state region of southwest Missouri, northwest Arkansas, northeast Oklahoma and southeast Kansas. All the counties within a 125-mile radius of Joplin are designated as Dental Health Professional Shortage Areas (DHPSAs) by the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA); currently there are only three existing dental schools in the four-state area.

Niessen earned her Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) degree from the Harvard School of Dental Medicine. She also holds a Master of Public Policy (MPP) degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree from the Harvard School of Public Health and a Certificate of Residency in Dental Public Health from the Harvard School of Dental Medicine.   

Niessen says she expects to feel at home in Joplin, as she has close ties to the Midwest. Her husband, John Lonergan, is a physician and native of Kansas.

They have two sons; one who is an oral and maxillofacial surgeon on the faculty at the University of Missouri – Kansas City; the other who is an ear, nose and throat surgeon in practice in Palo Alto, California.