Announcing the 2024 Distinguished Dental and Dental Hygiene Alumni Awardees

The School of Dentistry is pleased to announce that Katie Divine, DDS ’13, MS & Certificate in Endodontics ’18, and Kandis Garland, BS in Dental Hygiene ’98, MS ’07, RDH, DHSc, CDIPC, are the recipients of the 2024 Distinguished Dental and Dental Hygiene Alumni Awards.

The Distinguished Dental and Dental Hygiene Alumni Awards are honors given annually to outstanding alumni in recognition of exceptional achievement. Candidates must be a graduate of any program of the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry and are judged based on their participation, service, and leadership in the advancement of dentistry and oral health, their public service, community service, and/or civic affairs, and their dedication to continuing education.

Katie Divine received her DDS from the School of Dentistry in 2013. She completed an Advanced Education in General Dentistry fellowship at Idaho State University before returning to the School of Dentistry to pursue an MS in Dentistry and a Certificate in Endodontics. Divine is a board-certified diplomate of the American Board of Endodontics and has served in full-time private practice since completing her residency in 2018. Divine is an assistant adjunct professor at the School of Dentistry with a passion for mentoring future practitioners. She is also a leader in organized dentistry, having served or currently serving with the American Association of Endodontists, Foundation for Endodontics, Minnesota Dental Association and International Association of Dental Traumatology (IADT), among other organizations. Divine is a prolific volunteer who leads the endodontics division of the Minnesota Mission of Mercy, spearheaded the inaugural Global Dental & Oral Trauma Day with the IADT, and has volunteered with Give Kids a Smile for fifteen years. She is committed to providing free care to underserved children and other populations in Minnesota and across the world. Divine’s research contributions include publications in the Journal of Endodontics, within the recently released Dental Pulp Revisited 3rd edition textbook and upcoming research with the Orofacial MRI Center at the University of Minnesota and within the field of dental traumatology. She will be inducted into the American College of Dentists, the International College of Dentists and the Pierre Fauchard Academy this October.

“Dr. Divine embodies excellence in dentistry through her leadership, education, service and clinical expertise,” reflected David Wold, DDS, who nominated Divine for the award. “It is difficult to put everything she has been involved with, the lives she has changed and the smiles she has brought, into words.”

Kandis Garland received her Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene from the School of Dentistry in 1998 and her Master of Science in Dentistry in 2007. She completed a Doctor of Health Sciences at A.T. Still University in 2025. Garland practiced dental hygiene for more than 20 years while also educating the next generation at the University of Minnesota, Idaho State University, Laramie County Community College and the Oregon Institute of Technology. She held roles including instructor, associate professor, associate professor (tenure track), clinic coordinator, clinic director, OSHA/QA officer and health and safety coordinator.

An expert in infection control, Garland was instrumental to keeping dental practices safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. She was recognized by the Organization for Safety, Asepsis and Prevention as the Emerging Infection Control Leader in 2017. She is responsible for several peer-reviewed publications in Dimensions of Dental Hygiene, Decisions in Dentistry and the Journal of Dental Hygiene, among others, focused on infection control and risk mitigation. Today, Garland serves as program manager of dental hygiene at the College of Eastern Idaho, where she was tasked with developing the college’s dental hygiene program. 

“Kandis is a great example of our alumni, and she promotes the profession with passion,” reflected Carol Dahlke, BSDH ’07, MSDH ’10, in her nomination of Garland. “She has impacted many students as a faculty member and mentor over the years. I know she will continue to make the school proud to call her our own.”

Divine and Garland will be honored at the school’s Alumni Weekend on Friday, October 10.