Moi University Vice chancellor Prof. Richard Mibey  with visiting scholars from Indiana University; Prof Karen Yoder leader, Dr Keith Yoder, Dr Darlene West, Sharon Gwinn, folk singer, Robert Meitus, Stella Njenga, Crystal Chopp and  Quentez Freeman

Moi University School of Dentistry (MUSOD) was established in 2007 and recruited its pioneer students in January 2008. These students are set to graduate in December 2012.

In June 2010, the first party of seven Indiana University School of Dentistry (IUSD) faculty and students traveled to Eldoret to find the academic exchange program. This had stemmed from the Indiana University (IU)-Kenya Partnership that the IU School of Medicine had began in 1989.

As a result of this partnership both MUSOD and IUSD faculty and students have witnessed and participated in seeing the collaboration grow from strength to strength

The existence of the new school relieves pressure on University of Nairobi School of Dental Sciences, previously the only institution available to educate and train dentists in Kenya.

While IUSD established in 1879, is one of the oldest dental schools in the United States, Moi University’s dental school is four years old, having started with 15 students. But that doesn’t mean the new school is short on educational opportunities for the IUSD students. Though coming from the elder program, IUSD students are exposed to a different kind of academic rigor in the newer dental school.

Students do rotations at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital to learn more about the head and neck region. They accompany Moi University medical students on their rounds in the hospitals where they see conditions they would not likely see in the United States, such as tuberculosis and Burkitt’s lymphoma.

IUSD and MUSOD students and faculty worked together to launch Kenya’s first community-based dental sealant program. They took portable dental equipment to schools, orphanages and a drop-in shelter for Eldoret’s street children. They also collaborated on research to determine the effectiveness of autoclaves used in regional dental clinics and the concentration of natural fluoride in local water sources.

The relationship between the two institutions is important to both because of the impact it has on both groups of students through their interactions in Kenya and in the U.S