Guthmiller Is Appointed Associate Dean for Academic Affairs

Dr. Janet M. Guthmiller, associate professor within the University of Iowa College of Dentistry’s department of periodontics and Dows Institute for Dental Research, has been appointed associate dean for academic affairs at the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Dentistry.

Guthmiller will begin the transition into her role at UNC-Chapel Hill beginning in January 2007, focusing her time in Chapel Hill on beginning a major revision of the School of Dentistry’s predoctoral (DDS) curriculum. She will fully transition to her new role in July.

In addition to leading the DDS curriculum revision, Guthmiller will ensure that the School of Dentistry recruits and enrolls highly qualified students in the dental, dental assisting, dental hygiene and all graduate and advanced dental education programs; lead the preparation and self-study process to undergo predoctoral accreditation; ensure compliance with UNC-Chapel Hill and school academic policies for students and faculty; and conduct systematic and regular assessment of all academic programs to assure desired outcomes.

Guthmiller currently directs the Dental Student Research Program at the University of Iowa, one of the largest in the country with about 70 students engaged in research per semester. She has personally mentored more than 35 predoctoral, dental, graduate and postdoctoral fellows in their research endeavors, many of whom have received regional and national awards.

In August 2006, she received the University of Iowa Collegiate Teaching Award for her teaching and mentoring activities.

“Dr. Guthmiller is exceptionally gifted – as a clinician-scientist, private practitioner, educator and mentor,” said School of Dentistry Dean John N. Williams. “She has enjoyed great success in advancing student involvement in dental research at Iowa, has shown a definite talent for inspiring enthusiasm in the students she has mentored and is known as an innovator in dental education. We anticipate that she will make very valuable contributions to the future direction of our educational mission.”

Williams commended the performance of Dr. Carroll-Ann Trotman, professor of orthodontics, who has served as interim associate dean for academic affairs since February 2005.

“Dr. Trotman has provided critical leadership and has made invaluable contributions to our school’s academic affairs and academic outreach in the past two years. Our school is all the better for the role she has performed – and with great dedication. We’ll look forward to her continued leadership in the life of our school.”

Dr. Al Guckes, assistant dean for admissions and predoctoral education at the school, will manage the majority of day-to-day operations of academic affairs during Guthmiller’s transitional phase.

Guthmiller, who began her career in dentistry as a dental hygienist, graduated with her dental degree from the University of Iowa College of Dentistry and then entered the National Institutes of Health-sponsored Dentist-Scientist Program at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. As a part of this program, she earned her periodontal certificate and a doctorate in cellular and structural biology.

Her first faculty position was at the University of Maryland (1993-1997), where she was involved with both predoctoral and postdoctoral education, maintained a private practice and performed research.

In 1997, she returned to the University of Iowa, where she continued her teaching, private practice and research.

Guthmiller became a diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology in 1998 and in 2001 was inducted as a Fellow in the International College of Dentists. Her NIH-funded research has involved genetic studies of periodontal bacteria and the expression and activity of innate antimicrobial peptides.

She is the author of numerous book chapters, manuscripts and abstracts and has co-edited one book. She also is a reviewer for many dental and scientific publications, as well as an ad hoc reviewer for the National Institutes of Dental and Craniofacial Research.