Interview with David Born

David Born was born in 1944 in Dover, Ohio and raised in New Philadelphia, Ohio. He attended Southern Illinois University (SIU) and earned a bachelor’s degree in English in 1966. He went on to earn a master’s equivalent in anthropology and his Ph.D. in educational psychology, also from SIU, in 1970. Though his graduate school research focused on cultural stress and acculturation, Dr. Born joined the University of Minnesota’s School of Dentistry in 1970 as part of the Division of Health Ecology. His research in the 1970s and 1980s included the development of a computerized system to improve dental workforce distribution for the state of Minnesota, which was also adopted for other professions and geographic regions. As a result of these efforts, he became Director of the National Health Professions Placement Network (1979-1982). He has taught courses on public health and healthcare delivery in dentistry. He served as head of the Department of American Indian Studies from 1993 to 1996 and head of the Division of Health Ecology from 1996 to 2004. He has also worked closely with the School of Public Health and variously held joint appointments with the School of Public Health, the Department of American Studies in the College of Liberal Arts, and the School of Dentistry. He continues to teach and conduct research in the Dental School.Dr. David Born begins part one of his interview by describing his educational background and influences on his career trajectory. He then discusses the beginning of his career at the University of Minnesota in the Division of Health Ecology, covering the following topics: curriculum changes, community relations, career guidance, placement programs, and workforce issues. In part two of his interview, Dr. David Born describes how he came to be Department Head for American Indian Studies and his goals for the program. He then reviews his work in various leadership roles within the Dental School and in committee work for the University. Dr. Born also reflects on the following topics: the threatened closure of the School of Dentistry; retrenchment; the Dental School as part of the Academic Health Center (AHC); Lyle French’s tenure as Vice President of the Health Sciences; Dr. Erwin Schaeffer’s tenure as Dean of the Dental School; changes in the practice of dentistry; Dr. Richard Oliver’s tenure as Dean; efforts to recruit minority students to the Dental School; changes in the composition of the dental workforce; Dr. Richard Elzay’s tenure as Dean; and the work of other leaders in the Dental School and the AHC. He concludes with final reflections on mentorship and his work in the Dental School