News

Dean Saulius E. Drukteinis, DMD, MS, PhD, of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Dental Medicine (SIU SDM) recently announced the new members of their leadership team with expanded roles and duties:  Christa Hopp, DMD, associate dean for Academic Affairs, Duane Douglas, DMD, associate dean for Institutional Effectiveness and Faculty Affairs and Morgan Emery, DDS, director of Clinical Education. 

“We are fortunate to be building our executive team at SDM with these recent appointments,” said Drukteinis. “We are excited for wonderful things to come with such an outstanding and dedicated team.”

“As a graduate of SIU School of Dental Medicine and the Advanced Education in General Dentistry Program, I am excited to give back to my alma mater serving in this impactful role of leadership,” said Hopp.

“I want to use the knowledge I have obtained over the past 17 years of teaching at the school, and my passion for positively impacting the profession of dentistry, to ensure the highest quality education for our students.  I appreciate the opportunity and look forward to working with the SIU SDM administration to best serve our students, faculty, and profession.”

Hopp is the current section head of operative dentistry, regional director of the consortium of operative dentistry educators, and a past president of the Madison District Dental Society. She grew up in Lincoln, IL, graduated from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana with dual degrees in Biology and Human Nutrition, is an alumna of Southern Illinois University School of Dental Medicine and completed the Advanced Education in General Dentistry program also at SIU SDM. She has been teaching full time at SIU SDM in the operative section of the Department of Restorative Dentistry for 15 years.

Douglas joined the SDM faculty in 1999 and has held multiple leadership roles, including serving as associate dean for faculty since 2019 and functioning as the School’s director of research. Previously, Douglas served as chair for the Department of Restorative Dentistry and section head for fixed prosthodontics. A Winnipeg, Canada native, Douglas earned a DMD in 1989 from the University of Manitoba, a certificate in pediatric dentistry in 1992 from the University of Connecticut, a certificate in prosthodontics in 1994 from the University of Buffalo (N.Y.), a Master of Science in 1995 from UB and was board certified in prosthodontics in 2002.

“I am excited to be asked to expand my role at the School of Dental Medicine. We have a great program delivered by some of the finest faculty and staff in the nation,” said Douglas. “Dental education constantly changes, so we as an institution must envision how we will evolve along with it. This new role affords me the privilege of helping to advance an already strong school and even dream where it can go.”

Emery is a 2008 graduate of the University of Missouri Columbia, a 2012 graduate of UMKC School of Dentistry, and she completed the SIU SDM Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD) program in 2013. After her AEGD program, she joined her father, Dr. R. Eric Emery, in private practice in Saint Louis, Missouri while staying on one day per week to teach Operative Dentistry at SIU SDM. In 2017, she joined SIU SDM as a full-time faculty member and a Clinical Team Co-Leader and now teaches classes in Clinical Dentistry and Practice Management.

Transitioning out of the School of Dental Medicine are Ken Holbert, executive director and associate dean for Finance and Administration and Kathy Shafer, DMD, assistant dean of Clinical Affairs. They both will be retiring at the end of this month after many dedicated years of service to the SIU School of Dental Medicine. Dan Ketteman, DDS, has agreed to serve as interim dean of Clinical Affairs.

“SIU School of Dental Medicine (SDM) is profoundly thankful to Dr. Kathy Shafer, assistant dean for clinical affairs, and Mr. Ken Holbert, executive director and associate dean for Finance and Administration, who are retiring after decades of remarkable and impactful service to our students, staff, faculty and patients,” said  Drukteinis.

“We are grateful to Dr. Daniel Ketteman who will be serving as interim assistant dean for Clinical Affairs and a search is underway for an executive director/assistant dean for Finance and Administration.”

Other faculty stepping into interim roles are Manita Grover, DMD, as interim director of the International Advanced Placement Program and Tom Sotiropolous, DDS, as interim chair of Clinical Dentistry effective January 1, 2024.   
 

PHOTOS:  Christa Hopp, DMD, associate dean for Academic Affairs; Duane Douglas, DMD, associate dean for Institutional Effectiveness and Faculty Affairs; Morgan Emery, DDS, director of Clinical Education; and Dan Ketteman, DDS, interim dean of Clinical Affairs