Thursday, May 6, 2021
Written by: Office of Strategic Communication

University of Iowa faculty, staff, student, and an alumna have been named to the search committee for a new dean of the College of Dentistry.

In April, UI Executive Vice President and Provost Kevin Kregel named Julie Zerwic, dean of the College of Nursing, and Dan Caplan, department head of preventive and community dentistry in the College of Dentistry, as co-chairs of the search committee for a new dean.

The following committee members will join Zerwic and Caplan in the search:

  • Jeff Banas, professor, Department of Pediatric Dentistry, College of Dentistry
  • Chris Barwacz, associate professor, Department of Family Dentistry, College of Dentistry
  • Bethany Doolittle, DDS candidate class of 2023, College of Dentistry
  • Jennifer Fritz, alumna and president, College of Dentistry Alumni Board
  • Sukirth Ganesan, assistant professor, Department of Periodontics, College of Dentistry
  • Nidhi Handoo, clinical associate professor, Department of Oral Pathology, Radiology, and Medicine, College of Dentistry
  • Jon Houtman, associate professor, department of microbiology and immunology, Carver College of Medicine
  • Kecia Leary, clinical associate professor, Department of Pediatric Dentistry, College of Dentistry
  • Aline Petrin, associate research scientist, Iowa Institute for Oral Health Research, College of Dentistry
  • Lisa Piper, administrative support, Office of Student Affairs, College of Dentistry
  • Shankar Rengasamy Venugopalan, associate professor, Department of Orthodontics, College of Dentistry
  • Sarah Russett, associate vice president, Health Sciences Development, UI Center for Advancement
  • Erica Teixeira, associate professor and departmental executive officer, Department of Operative Dentistry, College of Dentistry

The search firm Greenwood/Asher will partner with the committee on the search.

The new dean will succeed David Johnsen, who announced in February he would step down as dean at the end of the college’s spring semester in June. Executive Vice President and Provost Kregel in April named Galen Schneider interim dean, effective June 12. Schneider is executive associate dean and associate dean for faculty in the college and is professor the Department of Prosthodontics. He will serve until a new dean is named.