Recreating ourselves | A message from the Dean

I typically take the opportunity to use my Second Tuesday messages to highlight our School’s  great work. However, today I am sharing my thoughts and reflections as we move closer to the end of the fiscal year. This past week, President Cunningham penned a message entitled “Navigating Financial Headwinds.” In this message, she states, 

"We have experienced significant cuts in federal research funding, and there is ongoing uncertainty in the future of federal funding and international student enrollment. Inside the University, some have seen their employment end as a result of cuts in federal funding. Further, some key areas that determine our long-term success have been historically underinvested in.

Our best response to meeting these challenges is continuing to come together in support of the University of Minnesota's mission. We must do so with a focus on financial sustainability and strategic investment."

Over the past few months, the School of Dentistry and other schools and units have grappled with the reality of the financial headwinds President Cunningham referred to. As a school, we trimmed approximately $2.7 million from our recurring budget—no small task. We are leveraging several financial factors to help meet this goal. 

One essential aspect is for us to recreate how we work; trimming our budget is not a pathway to do more with less. We are challenged to determine how we do things differently—to alleviate increasing workloads. An example of this is the incorporation of iPad/tablet check in kiosks in the patient waiting area to decrease patient check in time. Paul Anderson, our IT Director, is leading this specific task. This is one way to utilize innovation to improve efficiency, not about introducing automation and innovation to replace staff and faculty.

The School of Dentistry is a vital resource to the State of Minnesota. A significant number of our graduates care for the oral health of Minnesotans. We educate and train more than 600 learners annually. Our graduates serve in the military, are educators at other schools, work internationally, provide care in safety net clinics and perform groundbreaking research. The good work we do is contingent on our ability to recreate ourselves in the midst of strong headwinds. We must ask ourselves this question, “If you weren’t doing this already, would you start doing it today?” These headwinds are an opportunity for us to grow.

Thank you for your contribution to improving the oral health of Minnesotans, and patients across the country and world.