Dr. Rick Valachovic informed the ADEA Board of Directors
today of his decision to retire as President and CEO after 21 years of service
to the Association. He will continue in his role until June 30, 2019.
Dr. Valachovic, who was appointed in 1997 to what was then
the American Association of Dental Schools, oversaw the expansion of the
Association’s work to include the full breadth of dental professions and the
growth of the organization from a 10 staff, $3 million operation to 75 staff
and an almost $30 million budget.
Dr. Valachovic is probably best known for his tireless
commitment to ensuring The Voice of Dental Education is part of discussions of
federal and global policy and health care, alongside partners in medicine;
nursing; pharmacy; public health; and many others. Over the course of his
career with ADEA, he has served as President and now Chair of the Board of the
Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC), a member of the Washington
Higher Education Secretariat, President of the Federation of Associations of
Schools of the Health Professions, and Founding Executive Director of the
International Federation of Dental Educators and Associations.
Certified in pediatric dentistry and dental public health,
Dr. Valachovic is also a Diplomate of the American Board of Oral and
Maxillofacial Radiology, and a Fellow of both the American Academy of Pediatric
Dentistry and the American College of Dentists. Before joining ADEA, he served
on the faculty of the Harvard School of Dental Medicine and at the University
of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine.
He attributes his tenure and success at ADEA to the
“relentless pursuit of strategic alliances” and a passion for working with
colleagues across the health professions and higher education to realize a
specific vision for health care—one where the full health care team, including
dental professionals, is educated to work together to serve people. In his
words, “it is time to put the mouth back into the body.”
“On behalf of the ADEA Board of Directors, and indeed the
entire dental education community, we thank Rick for the vision, energy and
unfailing commitment he has shown our organization over the past two decades,”
said R. Lamont “Monty” MacNeil, D.D.S., M.Dent.Sc., Dean of the University of
Connecticut School of Dental Medicine and Chair of the ADEA Board of Directors.
“We never imagined that we would have come so far, and it simply would not have
been as successful a journey without Rick at the helm. We will miss him as a
leader, and a colleague, but know he will stay close.”
The ADEA Board of Directors will begin the search for Dr.
Valachovic’s successor this summer, with the goal of naming a new President and
CEO at the 2019 ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition in Chicago in March 2019.
The American Dental
Education Association (ADEA) is The Voice of Dental Education. Our mission is
to lead institutions and individuals in the dental education community to
address contemporary issues influencing education, research and the delivery of
oral health care for the overall health and safety of the public. Our members
include all 76 U.S. and Canadian dental schools, more than 1,000 allied and
advanced dental education programs, 66 corporations and more than 20,000
individuals. Our activities encompass a wide range of research, advocacy,
faculty development, meetings and communications, including the esteemed
Journal of Dental Education®, as well as the dental school application services
ADEA AADSAS®, ADEA PASS®, ADEA DHCAS® and ADEA CAAPID®. For more information,
visit adea.org.
Published June 13, 2018