
Council of Deans Fellowship
- Programs
-
Scholarships, Awards and Fellowships
-
For Students
- ADEA/Crest Oral-B Scholarships for Dental Hygiene Students Pursuing Academic Careers
- ADEA/Crest Oral-B Scholarships for Predoctoral Dental Students Pursuing Academic Careers
- ADEA Dr. Jeanne C. Sinkford Student Leadership Award
- ADEA/Haleon Preventive Dentistry Scholarships
- ADEA/MouthWatch Patti DiGangi Scholarship for Dental Hygiene Innovation
- ADEA/MouthWatch Predoctoral Dental Student Scholarship for Innovation
- ADEA/Sigma Phi Alpha Linda DeVore Scholarship
-
For Dental Educators
- ADEA Bell Leadership Institute Achievers Program Scholarships
- ADEA Dr. Jeanne C. Sinkford Faculty Leadership Award
- ADEA Council of Students, Residents and Fellows/Colgate Oral Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Junior Faculty Award
- ADEA/Colgate Oral Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Excellence in Teaching Award
- ADEA Enid A. Neidle Scholar Program
- ADEA/Gillette Hayden Memorial Foundation/AAWD Woman Dentist Tuition Scholarship
- ADEA Leadership Institute Alumni Association Award to Honor Jack Bresch
- ADEA Leadership Institute Phase V Leadership Development Tuition Scholarship
-
For Leadership Institute Fellows
- ADEA/AADOCR/Colgate-Palmolive Co. Dr. Dominick P. DePaola Scholar in the ADEA Leadership Institute
- ADEA/ADEAGies Foundation Drs. Connie L. and Richard R. Drisko Scholar in the ADEA Leadership Institute
- The ADEA/Foundation for Endodontics Scholar in the ADEA Leadership Institute
- ADEA/American College of Dentists Dr. Jerome Bright Miller Scholars in the ADEA Leadership Institute
- ADEA/Colgate Oral Pharmaceuticals, Inc./National Dental Association Dr. Jeanne C. Sinkford Scholar in the ADEA Leadership Institute
-
For Students
ADEA Council of Deans Fellowship at a Glance
The ADEA Council of Deans Fellowship is a yearlong program designed to create a pipeline of future leaders who will assume roles as dental school deans and other senior university leadership positions.
Ready to consider applying to this program?
- You must have the support of your dean.
- You will need:
- Letter of support from your dean o Letter of support from one or two additional recommenders (no more than two)
- A current curriculum vitae (CV)
- A letter of interest
- A one-page biographical sketch
- A five-minute video
Please review the ADEA CDF Candidate Application Guide (PDF) for more details.
Modules and Activities
2025-26
Orientation
March 20, 2025 | Montreal, Canada
2026 ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition
Module I
Fundamentals of Administrative Leadership
April 19–22, 2026 | Washington, DC
Module II
Practicing the Fundamentals of Administrative Leadership and ADEA Council of Deans Conference
November 2026 (dates TBD)
(Location TBD)
Module III
Moving Forward as a Leader
March 12, 2027 | Chicago, IL
2027 ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition
Site Visits
Two four- to five-day site visits to dental schools, where you will be mentored by the site visit dean.
Close Mentoring
Monthly meetings with your coach
Additional meetings
Invitations to additional ADEA meetings.
Application Information
Who should apply?
Ideal candidates have:
- Been in dental education for at least 7 years.
- Served in a leadership role for at least 3 years.
- Shown progressive leadership growth across time, within and external to dental education.
- Contributed to their institution’s mission.
- Served on a university-level committee.
- Chaired a committee outside of a dental school (national or state organization).
- A breadth of knowledge and experiences (e.g., curriculum assessment, accreditation, alumni relations, dental societies, public health and policy).
- Led substantial change projects in dental education or dental-related organizations.
- Supervised direct reports.
- Managed a budget.
Candidates must have the full support of their dean. Please share the Guide for Sponsoring Deans document with your dean.
Why should you apply?
During the ADEA Council of Deans Fellowship you will:
- Develop the skills, knowledge and experience needed to be a dean or higher-level role in academia
- Develop or reinforce existing skills, for example, strategic planning, fundraising, budgeting, and working with HR.
- Receive extremely high-level mentoring from your ADEA CDF coach (each coach has 2-3 fellows in total), the program director, your own dean and the site visit dean.
- Become prepared to successfully apply to a deanship or higher-level role in academia.
What is the cost?
ADEA is committed to supporting this important program and subsidizes a significant portion of the actual cost—allowing us to keep tuition costs at $15,000 for the past several years.
Tuition and fees include:
- All in-person modules.
- Complimentary attendance at the ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition for orientation at the start of the program.
- Speakers, consultants and moderators in all modules and all locations.
- Group events, such as receptions, selected meals.
- All mentoring from the ADEA CDF faculty (program director and coach).
- Any online ADEA programs or meetings associated with the fellowship.
Expenses that are not covered:
- Hotel and airfare to modules, site visits and the ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition.
What is the program content?
The ADEA Council of Deans Fellowship experience consists of an orientation, four modules, two site visits, and multiple online coaching sessions.
Orientation
Orientation takes place on the day prior to the ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition. (Tuition includes the cost of registration for the orientation session for new Fellows). New Fellows attend the graduating Fellows’ presentations of their Capstone Projects, showing their focus during the year.
They are invited to the graduation luncheon and attend an orientation where the ADEA CDF faculty get to know and understand more about each Fellow and the Fellows meet and get to know each other. The program is reviewed for Fellows, and the online resource (in ADEA eLearn) is provided to each Fellow.
The Fellows are provided with instructions to prepare a draft Capstone Project and develop a Career Development Plan. These will be uploaded to the eLearn portal before module I. (The Capstone Project will be further developed during the modules and site visits, with feedback from the assigned coach).
Coaches are assigned to each Fellow prior to module I.
Site visits are assigned after module I. The site visits are selected for the Fellows based on capstone project goals and identified areas for development for each Fellow.
Module I: Fundamentals of Administrative Leadership
Module I is an intensive three-day program:
- Case-based learning in HR issues, organizational management, communication, negotiation and conflict resolution.
- Six external presentations from deans and higher-level academicians on topics such as budgeting, outcomes planning, developing faculty at your future institution, fundraising and other topics.
- Mentoring from your coach and program director.
- Role-playing the application to a deanship.
- Advice on applying to deanships, including interviewing.
Module II: Practicing the Fundamentals of Administrative Leadership and ADEA Council of Deans Conference
Fellows will:
- Practice their skills in working with HR, budgeting and strategic planning.
- Network with deans and other ADEA members at the ADEA Deans’ Conference.
Module III: Moving Forward as a Leader
Module III takes place the day prior to the ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition. Registration for the ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition is not included in tuition and is not necessary for attendance at Module III.
Fellows will:
- Present their Capstone Project and receive feedback from the ADEA CDF faculty, new Fellows, and ADEA CDF alumni.
- Attend the ADEA CDF Alumni Association meeting.
- Attend the graduation luncheon with their Fellows, ADEA principal officers, invited deans and members of the ADEA CDF Alumni Association.
Questions
Please contact Sheila Brear, ADEA Chief Learning Officer at BrearS@adea.org with questions.