Indiana University President Pamela Whitten has announced that Dr. Carol Anne Murdoch-Kinch will serve as interim IUPUI chancellor, effective June 19, 2023.

IUPUI Interim Chancellor Andrew Klein is leaving Indiana University to become dean of the Wake Forest University School of Law. President Whitten asked Dr. Murdoch-Kinch to serve as interim chancellor of IUPUI until the next chancellor is named in 2024 when Dr. Murdoch-Kinch will resume her role as dean of the IU School of Dentistry. The national search for the next IUPUI chancellor will commence in August 2023.

“Carol Anne is the ideal leader to harness the momentum of the past year as we pursue our goal of becoming one of the preeminent urban research universities in the country,” President Whitten said. “She brings extensive strategic leadership experience and a strong commitment to enhancing the student experience, as well as our research enterprise. I know that under her leadership, our progress will continue.”

Dean Murdoch-Kinch began leading IU’s dental school in July 2019. She steered the school through the COVID-19 pandemic and has led growth in the school’s research portfolio, increased clinic efficiencies, expanded student services to address the holistic needs of students, and secured needed renovations and improvements to facilities.

Dean Murdoch-Kinch earned her D.D.S. from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada, and her Ph.D. and certificate in dental diagnostic sciences from the IU School of Dentistry. She is a diplomate of the American Board of Oral Medicine and a fellow of the American College of Dentists and the Royal College of Surgeons (Edinburgh). She has served as president of the American Board of Oral Medicine, commissioner for the Commission on Dental Accreditation, associate editor of the Journal of the American Dental Association, and member of the American Dental Education Association.

Prior to returning to IUSD as dean, Dr. Murdoch-Kinch served as the Walter Schwarz Professor of Integrated Special Dentistry and associate dean for academic affairs at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry. Throughout her career as an educator, scientist, and clinician, Dr. Murdoch-Kinch has conducted multidisciplinary clinical research in oral cancer and educational research in curriculum, assessment, and dental school climate. She has taught undergraduate, professional, and graduate students across the health professions and led the establishment of the Michigan Center for Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Care.

While Dr. Murdoch Kinch serves as interim IUPUI chancellor, Dr. Lisa Lang, associate dean for faculty affairs, will serve as interim dean of the IU School of Dentistry.

Dr. Lang is an experienced educator, administrator, and well-respected academic prosthodontist. She joined IUSD in July 2022 as a tenured professor from The Ohio State University College of Dentistry where she most recently served as the Dr. and Mrs. Julian B. Woelfel Endowed Chair in Restorative and Prosthetic Dentistry and chair of the Department of General Practice and Materials Science and the Department of Restorative and Prosthetic Dentistry.

Dr. Lang earned her DDS from the University of Michigan School of Dentistry. In addition, she completed a certificate in advanced education in general dentistry from Columbia University, a certificate and master’s degree in Prosthodontics from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA), and a master’s in business administration from Rawls College at Texas Tech University.

Dr. Lang began her academic teaching and administrator career at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Adams School of Dentistry and rose through the ranks at UTHSCSA, Case Western Reserve University, and The Ohio State College of Dentistry. Throughout her career, she has garnered grants and shared her scholarly work at national and international forums and in journal and book publications.

Dr. Lang is a diplomate of the American Board of Prosthodontics and is immediate past president of the Academy of Prosthodontics.

This is the third time that an IU School of Dentistry dean has been called to serve in IUPUI leadership. Dr. Maynard Hine, dental school dean from 1945 to 1968, became IUPUI’s first chancellor in 1969. Dr. John Williams, dental school dean from 2010 to 2019, served as IUPUI interim executive vice chancellor in 2012.