Dean, School of Dentistry since 2011
Began at Creighton in 1995

I am a ‘transplant’ from Pennsylvania having been raised and educated near and in Philadelphia. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine and a hospital dental residency I practiced in south central Pennsylvania and directed dental services at a community health center. I left practice to work in dental research and product development and learned of Creighton by research collaborations with the School of Dentistry. I was given the opportunity to move into an academic research career and moved to Omaha committed to a three-year trial. Nearly 19 years later I can reflect on my love for this community and for Creighton.

I am blessed with a loving and supportive wife Vicki and my amazing daughters Megan (25) and Mary Kate (21). My family inspires me to find God in all things and remind me of the daily need to seek His kingdom.

While being at Creighton for nearly 2 decades, my spiritual growth has been more recently impacted by the Spiritual Exercises through the 19th Annotation and by the Ignatian Colleagues Program, an 18-month commitment to education and growth in the understanding of Jesuit mission and purpose in higher education.

I am humbled and a bit intimidated by writing for the Reflections. However it is a wonderful reminder that were are earthen vessels filled with the gifts of the Spirit if we only quiet ourselves and let ourselves be a conduit for movement of the Holy Spirit in our sphere of influence.

e-mail: marklatta@creighton.edu