Dr. Monty MacNeil, Chair of the ADEA Board of Directors, declared 2018-19 to be the Year of the ADEA Chapter, with the goal to promote awareness of the ADEA Chapters for Students, Residents and Fellows and their mission to increase knowledge of and interest in academic dental careers. A 33% increase in the number of chapters was realized in 2018, bringing the total to 48 ADEA Chapters at 46 U.S. dental schools, one Canadian faculty of dentistry, and one U.S. allied dental education program.
Teaching and Learning—provide dental, allied dental and advanced dental educators with the information, knowledge, resources and tools they need to prepare the future dental workforce for an undiscovered future.
2018-19 Declared “Year of the ADEA Chapter”
ADEA Holds Inaugural Summit for National Student Leaders in Orlando
In March, the first-ever ADEA Summit for National Student Leaders brought together representatives from nine national student organizations for a four-hour concentrated discussion about opportunities to leverage collective missions and goals to advance issues in dental education and oral health.
ADEA’s Professional Development Offerings Expand
ADEA eLearn launched in 2018 to provide free professional development opportunities to ADEA members regardless of their physical locations. On average, two live webinars are presented each month with a focus on actionable outcomes to assist today’s dental educators.
ADEA provides professional development for our members through a host of programs and initiatives. In addition to the ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition, where extensive opportunities for professional development are available, leadership development programs include the ADEA Leadership Institute and the ADEA Summer Program for Emerging Academic Leaders.
Professional Development Opportunities for Allied Dental Educators Continue to be Strong
Allied dental program directors and educators have a full-time senior director at the ADEA headquarters to aid the integration of allied dental education into all divisions at ADEA. Among the most valued professional development activities is the ADEA Allied Dental Program Directors’ Conference (ADEA ADPDC). Developed exclusively for allied dental program directors by allied dental program directors, the 2018 ADEA ADPDC was in San Diego and featured new interactive sessions.
Additionally, ADEA offered a new, highly valued professional development activity for allied dental program educators: The ADEA Leadership Essentials for Allied Dental Educators (ADEA LEADE). Entirely web-based, the eight-week long ADEA LEADE’s successful outcomes have led to it being offered twice annually.
ADEA Participates in Third Health Professions Week
ADEA was one of 20 health professions organizations represented in the third annual Health Professions Week in November. Over 11,000 students registered for the event (compared with over 6,300 registrants in 2017); about 40% were high school students and 51% were college students. Registrants were asked to indicate the profession that most interested them—the dental professions ranked fourth.