Converging, Connecting, Creating: ADEA Fall Meetings Address Diversity And Access In Dental Education

Main Category: Dentistry
Article Date: 14 Dec 2006 - 0:00 PDT

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The American Dental Education Association (ADEA) held its first ever joint Fall Meetings in Baltimore, Maryland, December 7-9, 2006, addressing issues of diversity, access, and recognition in dental education. Titled "Converging, Connecting, Creating," the meetings brought together for the first time the ADEA Council of Faculties, the ADEA Council of Students, the ADEA Diversity and Access to Dental Careers Conference, the Second ADEA Advanced Dental Education Summit, and AFASA (ADEA Sections on Dental School Admissions Officers and on Student Affairs and Financial Aid), promoting the interaction and collaboration of ADEA members and thought leaders.

The joint keynote address was given on December 7 by noted actress, professor, and playwright Anna Deavere Smith. Prof. Smith, who, among many roles played National Security Advisor Nancy McNally on NBC's The West Wing, addressed the roles diversity and cultural differences play in our experiences, including our perception of health care. In other addresses, Dr. William Sedlacek, Professor of Education and Assistant Director of the Counseling Center at the University of Maryland, College Park, discussed alternative means of assessing student for admission to professional schools; and Dr. Allan Parnell, of the Cedar Grove Institute for Sustainable Communities, described the demographics that will affect future admissions issues for the health professions. Dr. R. Roosevelt Thomas, Jr., President of the American Institute for Managing Diversity, spoke about diversity in the business world as a business issue.

The unique format of ADEA's 2006 Fall Meetings encourages ADEA members who may not normally have a great deal of interaction to come together and address issues that face everyone in dental education. For more information about ADEA's Fall Meetings, click here.

The American Dental Education Association (ADEA) is the leading national organization for dental education. Its members include all U.S. and Canadian dental schools, advanced dental education programs, allied dental education programs, corporations, faculty, and students. The mission of ADEA is to lead individuals and institutions of the dental education community to address contemporary issues influencing education, research, and the delivery of oral health care for the health of the public. ADEA's activities encompass a wide range of research, advocacy, faculty development, meetings, and communications, as well as the dental school admissions services AADSAS and PASS and the Journal of Dental Education.

American Dental Education Association
1400 K Street
NW, Suite 1100
Washington, DC 20005202-289-7201
http://www.ADEA.org

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