Dennis A. Mitchell, DDS, MPH, is Named Dean of CDM
Dennis A. Mitchell, DDS, MPH, professor of Dental Medicine, has been appointed dean of the College of Dental Medicine. Claire Shipman, acting president of Columbia University, and Katrina Armstrong, chief executive officer of the Columbia University Irving Medical Center and dean of the faculties of Health Sciences, made the announcement. Dr. Mitchell has served as CDM's interim dean since February 1, 2025.
"We are very grateful that [Dr. Mitchell] will take on the role of dean in a permanent capacity. I can think of no one more qualified to serve as the next dean of the College of Dental Medicine,” said President Shipman.
Dr. Mitchell earned his DDS from the Howard University College of Dentistry and joined the Columbia faculty in 1991, after completing his general dentistry residency training at Harlem Hospital. He completed his MPH degree in executive health services management at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. At a time when the HIV/AIDS and crack cocaine epidemics were sweeping New York City, Mitchell advanced research on the oral manifestations of HIV in people of color and a cohort of injecting drug users at Harlem Hospital. A New England Journal of Medicine article about treatment of periodontal disease and the risk of preterm birth, which emerged from his research, received the American Academy of Periodontology Clinical Research Award for the year’s outstanding paper with direct relevance to clinical practice in 2007. Decades later, scholars still cite this groundbreaking work. Committed to improving clinical dental practice in Harlem and upper Manhattan, Mitchell co-created and launched the Community DentCare Network, which continues to provide screenings and dental services to underserved patients regardless of ability to pay.
While maintaining his faculty appointment at CDM, he joined Columbia's Office of the Provost in 2014 as senior associate provost for faculty diversity and inclusion, advancing to vice provost for faculty advancement in 2019 and senior vice provost for faculty advancement in 2021. In 2021, he was appointed executive vice president for university life. In 2023 he served as the University's interim provost, before assuming the roles of senior advisor to the president on inclusion and belonging and senior vice provost for faculty advancement. In those roles, he oversaw the University's efforts to create and enhance faculty development and support resources and programs to develop pathways to the professoriate.
Mitchell has been widely recognized for his contributions to the fields of public health and dental medicine. He is the 2025 recipient of the ADEA Gies Award for Eminence in Achievement. He is a fellow of the American College of Dentists and received the American Dental Education Association Distinguished Service Award in 2022. In 2021, he was named fellow of the Academy of Community and Public Health Service at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center.
"Dennis Mitchell has been a vital leader in the Columbia community for decades and we could not be more pleased that he will serve as the next dean of the College of Dental Medicine,” said Katrina Armstrong, MD, dean of the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and Columbia University executive vice president for Health and Biomedical Sciences. “Renowned in the field of dental medicine, Dr. Mitchell has long had a deep commitment to training the next generation of dental leaders, fostering advancement and belonging for all students and faculty, and addressing the healthcare needs of underserved populations.”
Dr. Mitchell is in the process of framing priorities for the College. He says that chief among them will be advancing research and discovery by encouraging the creation of new knowledge both in the laboratory and through new technologies including artificial intelligence; expanding access to care for the communities that the school serves by broadening the reach of CDM’s clinics and strengthening support for the extensive outreach efforts made by the school’s mobile dental clinic; and by fostering leadership and training new leaders among all of the College’s constituents. “As one of the leading dental schools in the country, it is our mission and responsibility to both train the next generation of oral health care leaders and to develop leadership and vision in our faculty,” Mitchell said.
“This has been a wonderful homecoming for me,” Mitchell said. “I spent 23 years at CDM before spending more than a decade in university leadership. Throughout my career, whether at 168th Street or in Low Library, I have remained deeply committed to students, faculty development, patient care, and staff support. I look forward to supporting our students, faculty, alumni, and staff as we work to extend and enhance the culture of excellence that is evident in every facet of our work.
Read the announcement made by President Shipman and Dr. Armstrong, chief executive officer of the Columbia University Irving Medical Center and dean of the faculties of Health Sciences, here.
Watch Dr. Mitchell's welcome address for the 2025 academic year: