Bulletin of Dental Education

By LaShell Stratton-Childers, ADEA Senior Editor

“Laissez les bon temps rouler!” or “Let the good times roll!” on March 9-12 at the 2024 ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition where attendees can learn, network and explore all the sights and attractions that New Orleans, LA, has to offer. Programming and events will center around this year’s theme of “New Beginnings, Endless Opportunities”. Global events, especially the recent COVID-19 pandemic, have opened our eyes to the exciting possibilities offered by emerging technologies. With ADEA now in the first year of its second century of existence, it is time for the dental education community to awaken to a fresh world of even more possibilities, aspirations and global thinking.

As in past years, the ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition will feature numerous exhibitors, more than a hundred technical sessions, and high-profile plenary speakers on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday who will discuss topics related to the theme of “New Beginnings, Endless Opportunities”. On Sunday and Monday, these presentations will be followed by the Chair of the Board Symposia. 

The Chair of the Board Symposia will kick off Sunday, March 10, at 10:30 a.m. with “Empowering the Leaders of Tomorrow”. This symposium will explore the characteristics, skills and strategies essential for leaders to empower their teams. On Monday, March 11, at 10:30 a.m., the next Chair of the Board Symposium topic will be “Crafting Pathways to Promote Access to Oral Health: Education, Research and Health Care”. This symposium will discuss the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research report, Oral Health in America: Advances and Challenges, and U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher’s pivotal report, Oral Health in America: A Report of the Surgeon General. The symposium’s goal is to create a dynamic and comprehensive event that explores various dimensions of promoting access to dental education, research and health care, ultimately fostering innovation and addressing the challenges highlighted in the referenced reports. Later that day, at 1:30 p.m., the Chair of the Board Symposium will feature “Global Collaborations to Change: The Paradigm of Oral Health Education and Care”. This symposium will share key takeaways from ADEA’s global partners’ experiences alongside an exploration of Cuba’s approach to oral health care and education in light of the ADEA delegation’s recent trip to the Havana School of Medicine and Dentistry. Experts in global health will share their thoughts on new and creative oral health education models and the urgent need to rethink oral health care globally.

The discussion will lead into the 2024 ADEA International Women’s Leadership Conference VII on March 12-13, which is followed by the 2024 IADR/AADOCR/CADR General Session & Exhibition on March 13-16—all taking place in New Orleans.

The 2024 Annual Session & Exhibition will also feature the 2024 ADEA GoDental Recruitment Event on Saturday, March 9. This free, in-person event offers individuals interested in dentistry the chance to meet admissions officers from U.S. and Canadian dental schools and attend interactive presentations to help them be successful applicants. In addition to Recruitment Fair which will feature several dental schools and organizations, there will be presentations, such as “Persistence and Perseverance: Pathways to Dentistry”, “Planning a Stress-free ADEA AADSAS Application”, and “How ADEA Helped Shape My Dental School Journey”, among others.

Among the ticketed events will be the ADEAGies Foundation^® Gies Awards Celebration, on Monday, March 11. The celebration will acknowledge the accomplishments of 2024 Gies Award recipients. Alison F. Doubleday, Ph.D., M.A., M.S., Chicago Dental Society Clinical Professor, Associate Professor and Director Faculty Development at the University of Illinois Chicago College of Dentistry will receive the Gies Award for Innovation. Her achievements included the creation of the Dental Education Exchange (a multi-institutional faculty learning community) and serving as the Chair of the ADEA Micro-credentialing Program Oversite Workshop. Nader A. Nadershahi, D.D.S., M.B.A., Ed.D., Dean at the University of the Pacific, Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry (Dugoni School), will receive the Gies Award for Vision and Leadership, acknowledging his vision, leadership and contributions to the Dugoni School. Through his many leadership positions, Dr. Nadershahi led the dental school through curriculum reform, the largest fundraising campaign in the school’s 127-year history ($69.2 million) and successfully navigated the Dugoni School through the COVID-19 pandemic. And finally, the Santa Fe Group, which was founded by five dental educators, will receive the Gies Award for Achievement. The Sante Fe Group launched a program to increase access to oral health care and the 2004 Salon on dental education reform, which led to development of the ADEA Commission on Change and Innovation in Dental Education that resulted in new competencies and changes to accreditation standards.

For a full list of events and exhibitors, visit the 2024 Annual Session & Exhibition Program Planner.

While in New Orleans, don’t forget to seek out the numerous attractions within “The Big Easy”:

• Jackson Square
• Audubon Zoo
• Audubon Aquarium
• Frenchmen Street
• National World War II Museum
• New Orleans Museum of Art

For a full list of attractions and description, visit the 2024 Annual Session & Exhibition Things To Do page.

Published on February 14, 2024