ADEA Annual Report 2022

Leadership

ADEA Begins Preparation of Centennial Celebration

ADEA will mark its Centennial in 2023 by honoring its past, supporting and celebrating its members today, and committing anew to the future of dental education. Founded in 1923 as the American Association of Dental Schools, ADEA is “The Voice of Dental Education” dedicated to preparing future-ready oral health professionals. With 100 years of excellence in developing better scholars, faculty and leaders in dental education, ADEA is bringing new thinking and innovation to the next century and beyond.

ADEA’s Centennial will kick off in January 2023 with a colorful logo on display on the ADEA website and elsewhere, a press release hailing this milestone and the separate (re)launch of a reinvigorated year-long #IamADEA campaign that places our members front and center as we tell ADEA’s story. ADEA plans to conduct and post interviews with key ADEA figures throughout the year, the Journal of Dental Education will feature special guest editorials to mark the Centennial and an upbeat “testimonial” video highlights members as they talk about what ADEA means to them. Attendees at the 2023 Annual Session & Exhibition will view micro-exhibits panels reflecting ADEA’s rich past. Additionally, ADEA TV will add a dynamic element to the 2023 Annual Session.

ADEA’s recognition of its Centennial will culminate with the Centennial Celebration Reception at the 2023 Annual Session where the organization will honor the awardees and runner ups of the ADEA President Centennial Awards for Oral Health Education, recognizing its past leaders and celebrating ADEA’s history and bright future.

New Thinking for the New Century

The New Thinking for the New Century Steering Committee, led by Nader Nadershahi, D.D.S., M.B.A., Ed.D., Chair of the ADEA Board of Directors, convened subcommittees in three domains:

Faculty and staff recruitment for dental, allied dental and advanced dental education;
Leadership development and succession planning; and
Preparing students for the future of collaborative practice.

The subcommittees currently are developing strategies for addressing issues related to these key domains.

ADEA Men of Color in the Health Professions Summit

In 2022, ADEA launched a series of events aimed at developing solutions to combat the shortage of men of color in the health professions. This call-to-action was issued by Karen P. West, D.M.D., M.P.H., ADEA President and CEO, in the recent ADEA report on historically underrepresented racial and ethnic groups (HURE), Slow to Change: HURE Groups in Dental Education.

The first event, the ADEA President’s Symposium on Men of Color in the Health Professions, took place at the 2022 ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition in Philadelphia, Pa. As a follow-up, ADEA hosted the Men of Color in the Health Professions Summit on Aug. 10−11 at the ADEA offices in Washington, D.C. The Summit’s aim was to bring together academic health professions leaders, government agencies, health professions associations and other key stakeholders to develop a consensus statement, coalition statement and action plan in support of men of color entering the health professions.

Sponsored in part by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Summit featured keynote speaker David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D., the 16th Surgeon General of the United States and Founding Director and Senior Advisor of the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at the Morehouse College School of Medicine, who discussed the state of men of color in the health professions and provided inspirational words of wisdom, which aided in beginning the Summit’s brainstorming activities. Additionally, Christina Rosenthal, D.D.S., Founder of Determined to be a Doctor Someday (D.D.S.) pathway program, hosted a conversation around pathway programs during day two.

Dr. West and Nader Nadershahi, D.D.S., M.B.A., Ed.D., Chair of the ADEA Board of Directors, gave welcoming remarks. Ryan Quock, D.D.S., Distinguished Teaching Professor, UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry and ADEA Past Chair of the Board of Directors; Todd Ester, D.D.S., M.A., Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, University of Michigan School of Dentistry; Herminio Perez, D.M.D., M.B.A., Ed.D., Assistant Dean of Student Affairs, Diversity & Inclusion, Rutgers School of Dental Medicine; and Sonya Smith, Ed.D., J.D., ADEA Chief Diversity Officer, aided in facilitating sessions and dialogue during the event.

The overarching goal was for Dr. West to present the Summit’s findings to the health profession leaders of the Federation of Associations of Schools of the Health Professions.

ADEA Men of Color in the Health Professions Update and Resolution

On Oct. 5, 2022, Karen P. West, D.M.D., M.P.H., ADEA President and CEO, met with the Federation of Associations of Schools of the Health Professions (FASHP) to present the draft Men of Color Consensus Statement (MOCCS) that was drafted by participants of the ADEA Men of Color Summit in August 2022. The FASHP Presidents and CEOs were enthusiastic about the consensus statement and expressed gratitude for the work completed by the August 2022 MOC Summit representatives. They each stressed the important timing of the consensus statement and how it integrates well with their associations’ current initiatives to increase men of color in the health professions. They also voiced support for working within their organizations to bring attention to and raise the profile regarding the lack of men of color in the academic health professions, starting with their boards of directors. As next steps, the Presidents and CEOs agreed to discuss the consensus statement, hold a vote to adopt it as part of FASHP at their respective associations and to issue press releases with their boards of directors and/or principal officers.

To align with the work of the other FASHP associations, members of the ADEA Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Committee convened a Men of Color in the Health Professions Resolution Subcommittee and with the assistance of Nader Nadershahi, D.D.S., M.B.A., Ed.D., Chair of the ADEA Board of Directors, Dr. West and Sonya Smith, Ed.D., J.D., ADEA Chief Diversity Officer, drafted a Men of Color in the Health Professions resolution, which was submitted for ADEA Board of Directors consideration on Dec. 1. The resolution was approved by the ADEA Board of Directors in January 2023 and has been submitted for consideration and adoption by the ADEA House of Delegates in March 2023.

ADEA Conducts Leadership Institute, Phase II

In September 2022, ADEA’s Office of Advocacy and Government Relations (AGR) conducted the ADEA Leadership Institute’s (LI) Phase II on the importance of advocacy skills for leaders in dental education. The sessions lasted over four days and included presentations by each AGR team member on various aspects of their role in ADEA advocacy and why effective advocacy is an important arrow in a leader’s quiver.

Speakers from outside of ADEA briefed the LI Fellows on issues that they would discuss with their members of Congress on the last day of the gathering. From the Health Resources and Services Administration, Jennifer Holtzman, D.D.S., spoke about federal support for oral health workforce programs, and Yehuda Sugarman, Director of Congressional Affairs for the American Association of Dental, Oral and Craniofacial Research, spoke to the importance of funding for dental and craniofacial research to the profession.

Sean Loughlin, former ADEA Chief Communications and Marketing Officer, provided information and insight on how to speak to news media and others inside and outside the academic institution and how to refine key messages so that you “fear no question.”

Finally, the LI Fellows heard an election analysis from Jessica Taylor, Senate & Governor Race Editor for the Cook Political Report. Taylor provided an insightful and up-to-the-minute description on what the political landscape looked like.

After practicing their “elevator speech” in support of funding for oral health workforce programs and for oral and craniofacial research, the LI Fellows were the voice of dental education in various meetings on Capitol Hill with their members of Congress.

ADEA, Other Orgs Comment on Department of Education Student Loan Forgiveness Regulation

ADEA joined the American Council on Education (ACE) and 23 other higher education associations in commenting on an U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) issued in July 2022 on changes to student loan programs administration. The groups noted the delay on a much-needed overhaul of the student loan system, writing that the proposed rules were the “best available way to assist borrowers” apart from a legislative solution.

The NPRM and our comments covered several topics, most relevantly proposing new rules dealing with the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. In October 2021, ED instituted temporary waivers, process to last one year, allowing it to make modifications to the existing program administration to process forgiveness requests more quickly and to be able to count more payments as “qualifying payments,” moving many closer to the required 120 monthly payments. The proposed rule seeks to codify those temporary authorities in a rule to make them permanent. The comments applauded ED for including in the NPRM provisions that will place many of these changes into a departmental rule, thus effectively making them permanent changes to administrative policy. The comments also suggested that other graduates who should be eligible for PSLF relief be included, including health care professionals who are working under a contract or at for-profit hospitals.

The final rule was issued on October 31, 2022.

ADEA, Other Orgs Submit Amicus Brief in Supreme Court Admissions Cases

ADEA joined the Association of American Medical Colleges and 45 health professions and education organizations in an amicus curiae brief to the Supreme Court of the United States in support of the limited consideration of an applicant’s racial or ethnic background or experiences in higher education admissions in the Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) v. Harvard and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina (UNC) cases before the Court this fall. The SFFA’s suits against Harvard and UNC challenge the limited consideration of race and ethnicity in higher education admissions, the constitutionality of which has been upheld by the Supreme Court repeatedly for more than 40 years. The court heard the cases on Oct. 31, 2022.

While the plaintiffs ask the high court to overrule longstanding Supreme Court precedent, the AAMC supports the current rule of law. The amicus brief focuses on the particular importance of racial and ethnic diversity in the health professions in classrooms, labs, and clinical settings to improve the overall health of the nation.

ADEA believes that the racial and ethnic background of applicants to dental or allied dental education programs are inextricably linked to their identity, experience and possibly even career choice. All applicants deserve to be able to apply to an institution of higher education in a way that reflects their full personal history.

A decision from the Court is not expected until the spring 2023.