Spotlight
Southern Virginia University’s First Dental Student Named Founding Dean of Arkansas’ First Dental School
When Burke Soffe first came to Southern Virginia University, he did not anticipate that he would become the university’s first student to be accepted into dental school after completing his undergraduate in 2004. Now, twenty years later, he is serving as the founding dean for the Lyon College School of Dental Medicine, the first dental school in Arkansas.
“Statistically, Arkansas ranks lowest in the nation in oral health, so there’s a great need for dentists here,” said Soffe. “Studies show that 80% of graduates and professionals will practice within two hours of where they were educated, so part of the mission at Lyon College is to keep our students in the state to increase the workforce and drive these graduates into the rural areas to really make an impact statewide.”
Known for having one of the lowest dentist-to-population ratios — averaging 42 dentists per 1000 residents, including 14 counties without a dentist — Lyon College’s dental program aims to combat the gap in Arkansas by streamlining the curriculum for faster graduation and reducing tuition costs to encourage its graduates to serve within the state. The anticipated opening of the college is June 2025.
“The majority of dental programs nationwide are four years, but we’ll be offering ours as a three-year program,” said Soffe. “The average dental school tuition is around $400,000, and that really isn’t sustainable if a graduate wants to go to a rural area since that kind of debt is handcuffing and can prevent the opportunity to make an impact in these areas. We want to make the program more efficient and produce more graduates that are ready to make an impact in these communities of need.”
Soffe first learned about Lyon College, located in Batesville, Ark., in 2022 when he was asked to help examine the possibility of creating a dental school in Arkansas and as a consultant for the institution’s curriculum. While he initially turned down the offer to lead the program as the founding head, he found himself drawn to the school because of the area’s need and its similarities with Southern Virginia University.
“There are a lot of similarities between Lyon College and Southern Virginia,” said Soffe. “It’s in a small town in Arkansas that reminds me of Buena Vista, and it’s a private liberal arts college. It’s a small school doing a really big thing, which is what Southern Virginia does. So taking the liberal arts ethos that Lyon College exposes, which I also learned at Southern Virginia, to dental education is something that really excites me.”
Soffe was introduced to Southern Virginia University while a student at Brigham Young University. After transferring to Southern Virginia to play soccer, he began working at a local dentist’s office until his graduation. After graduation, Soffe worked at the Buena Vista Family Dentistry before moving to Utah, where he continued his dentistry work with Gentle Dental Arts and Salt Lake Donated Dental Services. He then worked for Roseman University of Health Science in clinical education and curriculum development for ten years.
“Getting to work in a dentist’s office as a student was an amazing experience that I wouldn’t have had at a larger university,” said Soffe. “And the thing with Buena Vista and Southern Virginia University is you can create your own opportunities. It really set up my path and set me apart from others, because of these opportunities that gave me some practical experience in the field that is so similar to what we’re trying to do in Arkansas now.”
Soffe earned his bachelor’s degree in liberal arts with a minor in chemistry from Southern Virginia University. He then earned his doctor of medicine in dentistry at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas and a master’s degree at Western Governors University. He and his wife, Lauren, also a Southern Virginia graduate, are the parents of three children.