Members
of the ADEA House of Delegates will vote for the Chair-elect of the ADEA Board
of Directors at the 2019 ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition in Chicago, IL.
The ADEA Board of Directors has accepted the recommendations of the ADEA
Nominating Committee and slated three candidates for the 2019–20 Chair-elect: Denise
K. Kassebaum, D.D.S., M.S., Ryan Quock, D.D.S., and Karen P. West, D.M.D.,
M.P.H. Following are their personal statements.
Denise K. Kassebaum,
D.D.S., M.S.
Dean
and Professor of Diagnostic and Biological Sciences
University
of Colorado School of Dental Medicine
I
am honored to be nominated for the position of 2019 Chair-elect of the ADEA
Board of Directors. This is an exciting time to be a member of ADEA, as health
professions education and health care are being disrupted by new technologies,
scientific research discoveries, changes in health care and care delivery,
demographic changes in our providers and patients, and other environmental
factors.
The
impact of ADEA is felt within and outside dental education through its national
and international initiatives and strategic alliances. Today, ADEA is 20,000
members strong and represents the students, residents, faculty, and staff at
the 76 dental schools in the United States and Canada; the over 1,000 allied
and advanced dental education programs; and over 60 corporate members. The
mission of ADEA 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.
Throughout
my own career, ADEA has served as a professional compass, providing direction
through faculty development, leadership training, peer networks, and the
opportunity to contribute to national initiatives I am truly passionate about.
My service on two of its seven councils, and on its commissions, task forces,
institutes and international committees, has given me a great appreciation for
the strength of ADEA’s diverse voices and its power in North America and
abroad.
I
am currently the Chair of the ADEA Commission on Change and Innovation in
Dental Education (ADEA CCI) 2.0 Steering Committee. In this role I have the
great privilege to work with talented champions of innovation, faculty leaders
from different types of academic dental institutions and programs, CCI
liaisons, students and residents, and ADEA’s talented professional staff.
Together, we have set goals to support person-centered care provision, to
graduate future-ready graduates, and to inspire transformative learning
institutions. My recent service on the Task Force for the Assessment of
Readiness to Practice, working with colleagues from the ADA and ASDA to create
a call to action to modernize dental licensure, has fueled my passion to drive
national change on behalf of new graduates and a more mobile dental faculty. I
have been privileged to participate on the planning committee for the 2019 ADEA
International Women’s Leadership Conference VI to be held in Brescia, Italy,
working with colleagues from the Association for Dental Education in Europe
(ADEE), and others, to create a forum for highlighting the achievements of
women around the globe. These roles have taught me the importance of listening
before forging a consensus vision to move forward, the excitement of embracing
innovation and change, the value of collaboration in pursuit of changing
long-standing practices, and the importance of globalization to dental
education.
The
upcoming years at ADEA will be marked by change as a new President and CEO is
appointed, and as the ADEA Board of Directors finish a strategic planning
process with input from the membership. What won’t change is the important role
that ADEA plays in our academic dental institutions and programs, from
centralized application services, to faculty development and leadership
training, professional publications, federal advocacy and state-wide policy
monitoring, and critical policy making to support students and faculty. I view
the elected Chair of the Board, the directors of the seven ADEA councils, the
President and CEO, and ADEA’s professional staff, as the strategic leadership
team that works on behalf of ADEA’s 20,000 members. If selected, I will listen
to ADEA’s diverse voices while working to provide collaborative leadership to
advance ADEA’s strategic initiatives and alliances.
Ryan Quock, D.D.S.
Professor and Vice Chair of the Department of
Restorative Dentistry and Prosthodontics
University
of Texas School of Dentistry at Houston
It
is presently a fascinating era in dental education. New schools and programs
are opening. More students than ever are pursuing postgraduate education. And
ADEA—The Voice of Dental Education—has blossomed to include more than 20,000
individual members, with seven robust Councils. At the same time, the
profession is wrestling with questions regarding the sustainability of
educational models, appropriate assessment and pathways for our trainees, and
the evolution of practice paradigms.
An
anchor in the midst of these achievements and challenges is the undeniable
observation that dental education has a seat at the table. In fact, ADEA has
positioned itself as a leading voice at the table. It has truly been a
privilege to grow in my professional career as dental education has experienced
this renaissance, and I would consider it the highest honor to serve my
colleagues as the Chair-elect of the ADEA Board of Directors.
My
educational pathway includes a double-major B.A. (Spanish Linguistics and Asian
Studies) from Rice University, followed by a D.D.S. from University of Texas
Dental Branch at Houston. After some time practicing as a dentist in both
federally qualified health center and private sector settings, I joined the
faculty at the University of Texas School of Dentistry at Houston (UTSD). I am
grateful to have been promoted through the ranks of assistant, associate, and
full professor, currently with the designation of University of Texas System
Distinguished Teaching Professor. My schedule continues to regularly include
teaching of dental hygiene and dental students, as well as resident thesis
committees, with a scholarly emphasis on the intersection between preventive
and restorative principles.
It
has been an honor to lead interprofessionally as Chair of the UT-Houston
InterFaculty Council, consisting of faculty from our six component schools,
represent Houston at the statewide UT System Faculty Advisory Council (14 UT
academic campuses and health science centers), and be elected to membership in
the system-wide Kenneth Shine Academy for Health Science Education. From these
experiences I have gained insight both into the concerns of grass roots
educators as well as the complex issues facing educational institutions and
systems.
I
have been a member of ADEA since the beginning of my academic career, actively
participate in the Sections on Operative Dentistry and Biomaterials and
Cariology and am proud to have been elected by my UTSD colleagues to represent
them on the ADEA Council of Faculties (ADEA COF). The ADEA COF then elected me
to their Administrative Board, where I led the development and launch of ADEA
weTeach®, a unique online collection of peer-reviewed resources in teaching,
learning and assessment. As a graduate of the ADEA Leadership Institute, it has
been a pleasure to mentor colleagues through the ADEA Summer Program for
Emerging Academic Leaders, as well as students at Houston as they re-booted our
ADEA Student Chapter. Currently it is my honor to serve as ADEA Board Director
for Faculties. This immersive ADEA experience has expanded my appreciation and
understanding of dental education, and I feel especially invigorated as the
ADEA Board of Directors engages in strategic planning this year.
In
addition to these professional experiences, I am particularly grateful for the
many colleagues that have impacted me. It might be said that the strength of
ADEA lies in its membership; I have been mentored, encouraged and inspired by
so many dental education friends over the years. The sum of these professional
experiences and interactions have confirmed my desire to be a responsible
steward of what has been passed on to me. Thus, I humbly request your
consideration and support for the position of Chair-elect of the 2019–20 ADEA
Board of Directors.
There
are real issues and opportunities for dental education going forward, and ADEA
is poised as never before to lead the way. I believe that my experiences and
empathies put me in an ideal position to not only understand the diversity of
triumphs and circumstances that lie ahead, but also rally the membership to
meet those milestones with optimism and excellence. It would be an honor to
serve ADEA and dental education as the Chair-elect of the ADEA Board of Directors—thank
you for your consideration!
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Karen P. West, D.M.D.,
M.P.H.
Dean
and Professor of Biomedical Sciences
University
of Nevada, Las Vegas School of Dental Medicine
It
would be a true honor to be selected as Chair-elect of the ADEA Board of
Directors. I have been involved with academic dentistry for over 30 years and
it has been one of the greatest passions in my life. Currently, I am at the
University of Nevada, Las Vegas, School of Dental Medicine where I have served
as Dean for 12 years. I plan on stepping down from this role on June 30, 2019,
which will allow me more time to devote to ADEA, if elected. I have been
involved with ADEA throughout my career, having served on the Administrative
Boards of both the ADEA Council of Faculties and the Council of Deans. As Dean,
I have been proud to support the participation of faculty and students in many
of the ADEA activities. I believe that dental education is and will be facing
critical challenges in the very near future, making it extremely difficult for
me to focus on a single platform for election. Therefore, I have selected two
very distinct and diverse agendas, if elected. I consider both equally
important.
The
first is the blurring of the lines between academic dentistry and the business
systems within. Each has its own culture defined by unique core objectives. A
new paradigm is emerging. It has always been difficult to integrate the two
while assigning responsibilities and ensuring appropriate resources are
available between the two domains. Now, with the increasing government
regulatory state and federal oversight on health care business models, a dental
school must consider which direction dental education should follow—the more
traditional academic pathway or a more integrated focus that combines both
academics and a clinical business model. Lower state support for schools has
served to drive this to the forefront of concerns at a much faster pace than
initially anticipated. I think this concern is one that must be addressed
quickly and with great thought and discussion among our communities of
interest. “Compliance” is a word that has only recently been viewed in the
dental school vocabulary, but brings with it substantial costs for audits,
prevention or regulatory fines that have not been traditionally figured into
operating budgets. Legal advice or knowledge in the dental institution
environment is becoming more and more essential. A year ago, only five dental
schools had dedicated compliance officers. Unless the parent institution
contains an academic health center, dental schools may be unaware of their true
risks and liability. In order to maintain our standing and heritage as academic
institutions, we need to define ourselves better, distinguishing between the
hospital financial enterprise and the academic teaching model that will ensure
sustainability of dental education.
My
other focus would be on the wellness of our students, faculty and staff. In
these days of chaos, disrespect and divisiveness, it is essential that our
dental schools be a safe and friendly environment for our students to study,
work and treat patients; for our faculty to teach, mentor and do research; and
for our staff to assist and train. The time has come for us to change the
conversation from burnout to wellness, moving beyond simply discussion to that
of a shared definition of wellness with interventional strategies. We must do
everything we can to provide the necessary resources to support a holistic and
inclusive environment that is welcoming to all. Whether it be counseling
services, workout facilities or weight loss classes, a mindfulness is needed to
promote wellness on our dental school campuses. Dentistry is not all about the
cavity preparation; it is about treating the whole patient; just as the dentist
is not about just their handskills, it is about the whole dentist, mind and
body.
Both
of these areas are very important to me and I pledge, if elected, to work
extremely hard in effecting change where needed. In addition, I would listen
and work with the Councils on areas of concern to each of you. I am committed
to the betterment of ADEA. Part of that betterment is increasing inclusiveness
and a welcoming feeling to all that we serve. I would appreciate your vote.
Published on November 14, 2018