Lyon College will collaborate with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) for the Lyon College School of Oral Health and Dental Medicine.
Earlier this year, the college announced its plans to develop Arkansas’s first dental and veterinary medicine schools in collaboration with Little Rock’s OneHealth Education Group. (Click here for that story from White River Now.)
This week, Lyon College said it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) outlining the scope of collaboration with UAMS for the dental school.
Lyon said the collaboration will bring the best and brightest together to support oral health outreach and outcomes throughout Arkansas — specifically with regard to the state’s most vulnerable communities.
“We are thrilled to work with the state’s only academic medical center, UAMS, on collaborative efforts for our Institute of Health Sciences and the founding of Arkansas’s first and only college of dentistry,” said Dr. Melissa Taverner, president of Lyon College. “This collaboration represents a partnership between two historic institutions dedicated to the health and education of Arkansas.”
In a media release announcing the MOU, Lyon said the memorandum of understanding “…will work to foster joint efforts in both entities’ respective missions and identify opportunities for joint teaching, research, graduate education and professional development to benefit students and faculty. ”
The main campus of the Lyon College School of Oral Health and Dental Medicine will reside in the Heifer Project International Campus located in Little Rock (pictured). The facility boasts approximately 94,000 square feet of office space and is situated on more than 20 acres in the East Village area of Little Rock.
“With the signing of this MOU, UAMS and Lyon College are paving the way for health improvement in Arkansas,” said Dr. Stephanie Gardner, UAMS senior vice chancellor for academic affairs and provost. “This partnership will ensure the highest-level programmatic achievement for the new Lyon College Institute of Health Sciences and fulfill UAMS’ mission to improve the health and health care of Arkansas.”
UAMS is part of the University of Arkansas System and consists of five colleges, a graduate school, seven institutes, several research centers, a statewide network of regional campuses, and the UAMS Medical Center. UAMS also offers a dental General Practice Residency, which is a postdoctoral educational program designed to provide essential skills, attitudes, and abilities related to the contemporary practice of advanced general dentistry, with emphasis on total patient-centered care.
Information provided by Lyon College
Have a news tip or event to promote? Email White River Now at news@whiterivernow.com. Be sure to like and follow us on Facebook and Twitter. And don’t forget to download the White River Now mobile app from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store.
Get up-to-date local and regional news/weather every weekday morning and afternoon from the First Community Bank Newsroom on Arkansas 103.3 KWOZ. White River Now updates are also aired weekday mornings on 93 KZLE, Outlaw 106.5, and Your FM 99.5.
