Lasting Impressions | Summer 2017

2012 The inNOVAtions strategic plan is introduced to provide a road map for the college’s five-year vision. The plan includes expanding research activities, continuing curriculum innovation, strengthen- ing clinical programs, and engaging alumni to share their expertise with current students. 2013 Linda C. Niessen, D.M.D., M.P.H., M.P.P., is selected as the third dean of the CDM. NSU COLLEGE OF DENTAL MEDICINE © 9 time at the CDM that developed her as a leader as president of her dental school class. She is currently enrolled in a dental public health residency at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine. Immediately after graduating from the CDM, Kennedy went to the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland, for a general practice residency. Halfway through the year, however, something shifted. “Dean Niessen encouraged me to complete my dental public health specialty training and pursue the dental health residency at Harvard,” said Kennedy, who added that the dean was “always challenging me to think beyond just a year from now or 2 years from now. What was I going to be doing? What impact would I make 20 years from now, and what steps could I take to get there?” While at the CDM, Kennedy cofounded Nova South- eastern University’s Practice Management Club and began the Student Research Club. “The CDM gave me the support to help bring in new organizations that we hadn’t had in the past,” she said. As a current member and project leader in the Ameri- can Dental Association Institute for Diversity in Leader- ship, Kennedy is involved in a community-based project that involves creating oral health policy for health care resources for indigenous tribes in Alaska. “I grew into my role as a leader at the CDM. At many schools, it isn’t like that,” she admitted. “The CDM really grows leaders and gives you so many opportunities to do things outside of the classroom. They aren’t just preparing you to be a great dentist; they are helping you to become a better human being.” Kennedy said part of the responsibility of being a leader is giving back to NSU and the CDM. “Someone invested in you to grow you as a leader, so how are you going to invest to grow more leaders?” she said. Mark Limosani, D.M.D., M.S., a class of 2011 alumnus who serves as president of the postgraduate Endodontic Alumni Association and the South Broward Dental Associa- tion, said the importance of being a leader in the communi- ty is fostered at the CDM. “It’s more than just explained by the faculty as to how important community is,” he said. To that end, Limosani said community is also about making the college stronger. “When you help the school grow, it reflects positively on you. Graduates thrive, and