ATSU-MOSDOH welcomes 64 new dental students with White Coat Ceremony
Posted: July 30, 2026
A.T. Still University’s Missouri School of Dentistry & Oral Health (ATSU-MOSDOH) honored the incoming class of 2030 with a White Coat Ceremony on Friday, July 10, 2026, at Truman State University’s Baldwin Hall in Kirksville, Missouri.
Additionally, the School welcomed 10 students who are members of the Advanced Standing International Dentist program, designed for internationally educated dentists who desire to earn their doctor of dental medicine (DMD) degree for practice in the U.S.
The White Coat Ceremony is a ritual practiced by many groups in the healing professions. It symbolizes the students’ commitment to the obligations of their new profession. Characteristic of this ceremony is publicly swearing an oath acknowledging the students’ responsibility to their new profession and future patients.
Kneka P. Smith, EdD, MPH, ’19, dean, and Ali Mohammad, D2, president, class of 2029, welcomed guests to the ceremony. Mohammad was joined by Brooke Robinson, MPA, director of Student Success, in transferring the symbolic key for the cabin of A.T. Still, DO, to Evelyn Durkee, D1, of the class of 2030. The key is a symbol of the University’s heritage and of the commitment current students have to supporting members of the incoming class.
Gaylah Sublette, MBA, president, Missouri campus, delivered the closing remarks.
Check out more photos and view the full ceremony below.
