Dr. DeKinder serves as Associate Dean of Academic Programs and Director of Residency Programs. She graduated from Northeastern State University Oklahoma College of Optometry and completed a Cornea and Contact Residency at the University of Missouri-St. Louis College of Optometry prior to joining the faculty.
Dr. DeKinder’s primary teaching responsibilities are in the Contact Lens courses. Her primary clinical responsibilities include attending students in contact lens clinics. Dr. DeKinder conducts contact lens research with residents and students. She is both a fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and a Diplomate in Cornea, Contact Lens and Refractive Technologies. She is a fellow of the Scleral Lens Education Society, and a member of the American Optometric Association and the Missouri Optometric Association. She is currently serving as Vice-Chair for the Association of Optometric Contact Lens Educators (AOCLE) and is a council member of the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education (ACOE). She serves as a member of the residency committee for the American Academy of Optometry, as Chair of the residency committee for Accreditation Council on Optometric Education (ACOE), and a consultant to the part I exam development Committee for the National Board of Examiners in Optometry (NBEO).
Associate Dean of Academic Programs, Director of Residency Programs, Clinical Professor
