Dean's Messages

An attribute of a healthy environment, whether personal or professional, is that people feel safe and supported. Creating these environments is the responsibility of every community member. Sometimes members of a community have to help each other in moments that surprise, stun or offend the community’s desired norms.

I need everyone to find time this summer to exhale. It is important that each of you take care of yourselves and your family and friends.

One of the proudest moments an educator experiences is seeing their students succeed. Earlier in my career, I had a mentee who would drop in and camp out with endless questions on their mind. Although it momentarily interrupted my work, I didn’t mind. I was fortunate to have mentors in my past who allowed me to do the same thing long ago. Fast forward, and I was amazed to see the mentee grow as they presented at a national meeting.

In 2016, the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) Snapshot reported the results of a faculty survey indicating 66% of dental education faculty were male and 34% were female for the 2014-2015 academic year. Three years later the report indicated a similar ratio: 63.2% male and 36.8% female. A deeper look at this data reveals a shifting trend: faculty in the under 30 -39 years age range is more female than male. This faculty trend parallels student enrollment, as many schools similar to us are enrolling more women than men. This is a stark contrast to the 1960’s, when the percentage of women in dental school was approximately 1%.

One of our core values is “service to all communities.” The educational model of our school has allowed us to fulfill this value and operate our Moos Tower clinics as safety-net clinics. Within our predoctoral clinics, we provide dental care to patients with commercial insurance, public insurance and no insurance at all.  For a variety of reasons, the patients treated in our clinics may have few options of places to seek care. By improving their oral health, we also positively impact their overall health. 

January marks a time when new year resolutions are made. Some people don’t like the term resolutions, so they set goals. It is an interesting process, because many of the goals and resolutions aren’t pursued beyond Valentine’s Day. But I believe there is something hopeful, and even optimistic, about the mental exercise of placing the things of last year in the past and charting a path forward into the unknown of refreshed dreams, hopes and aspirations.