David Johnsen received his DDS degree from the University of Michigan in 1970 and his MS in Pediatric Dentistry from the University of Iowa in 1973. He became board certified in Pediatric Dentistry in 1978. Professor Johnsen has been on the faculties of West Virginia University from 1974-80, with the Outstanding Teacher Award, 1976; Case Western Reserve University from 1980-95, where he served as Department Chair, intermittently as Director of the Residency Program, and as Interim Dean in 1993; and served as Dean of Dentistry at the University of Iowa from 1995 to 2021. He is now Dean Emeritus and Professor of Pediatric Dentistry at the University of Iowa.
Professor Johnsen’s research and scholarship have focused in three main areas, two with federal funding: Innervation of teeth as an indicator of capacity to transmit pain sensory impulses (NIH) and early childhood caries/caries patterns in preschoolers (MCH). The latter area included demonstration projects or consulting nationally in the Women, Infant, and Children’s (WIC) Program and the Head Start Program. Current activity is in the methodology for critical thinking learning and assessment; he is in the top 1% of scholars writing about Dental Education over the past 10 years. He has also published on a variety of clinical and educational topics.
Professional service has included the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry Board of Directors, 1988-91 and Child Health (legislative) Advocate, 1992-95, with the Distinguished Service Award in 1996. Dr. Johnsen received the Achievement Award from the Ohio Dental Association in 1992. He served on the American Dental Education Association Council of Deans Board, 1998-2001 and as ADEA President, 2002-2003. He received the ADEA Distinguished Service Award in 2021. He received the Jack Hein Public Service Award from the American Association for Dental Research in 2010. He served (2010-13) on the National Advisory Dental and Craniofacial Research Council (NIH). He was Director of the Dental Deans Institute from 2014 - 2021. He is currently on the Editorial Board for the Journal of the American Dental Association.
University Service has included: Election to Chair the Faculty Senate at Case Western Reserve University, 1994. At the University of Iowa, he served as Chair of the Search for the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics CEO, 2002; as Co-Convener of the Health Sciences Policy Council, 2003-04; as Co-Chair of the University Task Force on Clinical/Translational Research in 2005-2006; as Chair of the Nursing Dean Search in 2006; as Chair of the Presidential Search in 2007; as Chair of the UI Museum of Art Director Search in 2010; and as Chair of the Liberal Arts and Sciences Dean Search in 2012. Thirteen professorships created. 2007-2016: $65million Building Transformation completed on time and under budget.
